How to break a lease

[Blurcelve]

Hi everyone,

I have really exciting news! This morning I signed a lease on my very own office space in a GREAT location in an area I have dreamed of working since I started on this path. I am scared and excited as the rent is twice what I'm paying now, but confident, too that I can make this work.

Here's the issue... I am still locked into a lease for the next three months at the office where I share a room with 2 other women (the third woman that I share with has exclusive rights to 1 room and she is the one the rest of us are renting from). The biggest reason for needing this change is that I am about to become certified in Thai Massage, and my Thai mat won't fit in that tiny room. I am also tired of not being able to properly work on my clients' feet because the room is so small I can't sit or stand at the foot of the table. There are other issues as well that I don't need to bring up here.

I would like to ask if my landlady will let me out of the lease at the end of February, but I'm not exactly sure how to ask her. I know that she has every right to say "no." However, I feel that I should at least try.

Does anyone have any advice? Or, should I just suck it up and pay the rest of the rent (OUCH!)? I'd like to free up the space for someone else who can use it, and the money for me to fall back on should I continue on hard times.

Thanks in advance,

Emily

 

[Kuwaiti_Jutt]

There are lots of ways to do this

If space is in demand in your town or if you got a good deal on your lease, your landlady might be happy to let you out -- the sooner she can rent it for more the happier she will be. That is what we did with our office lease with 4 months to go.

Or you might try to find a sub-lettor who would be interested in signing a 1 year lease when yours expires. If you do the leg work for her, she should be happy to let you out.

She has nothing to gain just by letting you out if the first scenario does not apply. YOu have to give her a reason ($) or make it easy for her to say yes.

 

[madi]

You should also put everything in writing if they let you out of the lease early.

 

[nodumgys]

Around here it tends to be that if they can re-rent it, you can get out of the lease. If it doesn't rent, you pay to the end. Finding a subletter is a very good idea. Good luck, and congratulations on your new space!

 

[Scarlet]

Thanks everyone for your help. R and R I love your avatar LOL .

I must say that it is not a very marketable space. My only hope, I think, is to see if the other two ladies (who I share with) would like to buy my time slots in the room. I have a feeling that their rent went down when I came into the picture because they seemed awfully happy to welcome me into the fold - so they may not be happy to see me go either. I just hope to escape from this situation with no hard feelings on anyone's part. That may be impossible.

I never should have signed the lease, but at the time I was being forced into dropping my hours at my day job and had to have a place to practice. I panicked, knowing the space was far from what I really wanted or would need in the long run.

I honestly think my best course of action will be to call the landlady tomorrow, state my case, and hope for the best. It may well be I'll be writing her a big check to pay off the remainder of my lease and dropping it by on Sunday.

I've already got my first new client scheduled for my new space . Feb 3rd.

Emily

 

[GCharwood]

I've already got my first new client scheduled for my new space . Feb 3rd.

Emily

Congratulations!

 

[banananose_89117]

If you do pay for the remainder of the lease, you should go by now and then to make sure it is not being used. If you pay for the time, and she rents it out to someone else, or someone else uses it, you could get a refund- at least I would think.

 

[Todd A]

If you do pay for the remainder of the lease, you should go by now and then to make sure it is not being used. If you pay for the time, and she rents it out to someone else, or someone else uses it, you could get a refund- at least I would think.

I believe it is illegal to collect rent from two people at once - excepting the rent sharing, of course. So yes, I'd check on that!