What happens to my brother for breaking his lease on an apartment?

Kelly K: What happens to my brother for breaking his lease on an apartment?
My brother is renting an apartment that he signed a yrs lease for. He still has 8mos left on his lease. He is planning on moving with his girlfriend and breaking his lease. I tried to talk him out of it. I told him that he can and will be sued and must pay them at least 3months rent if he wants to leave. Did I advise him correctly?

Answers and Views:

Answer by rtfm
Whatever happens to him will be exactly what it says in his lease that the landlord will do if he breaks the lease.

Answer by johnjanetl
Any punitive actions against him for breaking the contract will be listed in his lease agreement. He has rights as well with early termination. In most states, he will only owe the months in which they no longer have a tenant, so he could end up owing 1 month, or even 8 months rent depending on how soon they are able to lease the apartment again to someone else.

Answer by Celine P
Most landlords will refuse to return the security deposit if a lease is broken. They may also find legal recourse and he may be obligated to continue paying the rent until either the apartment is leased to another person or the lease expires, which ever comes first. The second scenario is very rare but it could happen. The best thing to do if he absolutely must break the lease is to contact the landlord and discuss the possibility of sub leasing the apartment

Answer by chatsplas
READ the lease, carefully. He is presumably an adult who gave his word and promises and is LEGALLY and morally bound by the lease. Sure, he can break it, but he will have to pay the consequences.
Best way to get out of lease is to read lease, and talk with LL. Give LL lots of notice and cooperate with reletting. Going to lose security, could be sued if he doesn’t act responsibly.
Depends on the specific lease if your advice is correct. Most LLs would accept that deal. If he finds replacement tenant he may get off easier.

Answer by Kathy B
Your brother has agreed to the terms of the lease. If it is a large apartment complex they are more likely to hold him to it than an individual owner. They can require that he pays the rent for the entire 8 months remaining. They are within their rights and it just depends if he has enough assets for them to pursue a court case against him. If he had any co-signers, they will also be responsible. They could also garner his wages if that is the only way to get their money.

The best course of action would be to find someone else to sub-let to and ask the landlord to substitute their payments for the remaining term of the lease.

Answer by gafpromise
The lease determines any penalties he would pay. Technically the landlords could sue him for the remainder of the lease.