Learn when and how tenants may legally break a lease in Georgia and how to limit liability for rent through the end of the lease term.
many tenants who sign a rent for their apartment or lease whole plan to stay for the full come of time required in the lease, such as one class. But despite your best intentions, you may want ( or need ) to leave before your lease is up—for exercise, if you ‘re a scholar at the University of Georgia and only want to stay in your apartment for the menstruation of time that school is in session. Or possibly you ‘re moving in with your boyfriend or girlfriend. sometimes, you may need to move in order to be closer to your new job or an aged parent who needs your help
Leaving before a fixed-term lease expires without paying the remainder of the lease due under the lease is called breaking the lease. here ‘s a brief review of tenant rights in Georgia to break a lease without further indebtedness for the lease .
Tenant Rights and Responsibilities When Signing a Lease in Georgia
A lease obligates both you and your landlord for a typeset period of fourth dimension, normally a year. Under a distinctive lease, a landlord ca n’t raise the lease or change other terms, until the lease runs out ( unless the lease itself provides for a change, such as a economic rent increase mid-lease ). A landlord ca n’t force you to move out before the lease ends, unless you fail to pay the rent or desecrate another significant term, such as repeatedly throwing big and noisy parties. In these cases, landlords in Georgia must follow specific procedures to end the occupancy. For exercise, your landlord must give you a requirement for the rent ( Georgia Code Ann. § § 44-7-50 and 44-7-52 ) before filing an eviction lawsuit.
Tenants are legally bound to pay rent for the full rent terminus, typically one year, whether or not you continue to live in the lease unit—with some exceptions, as follows .
When Breaking a Lease Is Justified in Georgia
There are some crucial exceptions to the blanket rule that a tenant who breaks a rent owes the lease for the integral lease term. You may be able to legally move out before the lease term ends in the succeed situations .
You Are Starting Active Military Duty
If you enter active military service after signing a rent, you have a right to break the rent under union jurisprudence. ( War and National Defense Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 App. U.S.C.A. § § 501 and following. ) You must be part of the “ uniform services, ” which includes the armed forces, commissioned corps of the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ), commissioned corporation of the Public Health Service, and the trip National Guard. You must give your landlord written notice of your purpose to terminate your occupancy for military reasons. Once the notice is mailed or delivered, your occupancy will terminate 30 days after the date that rent is following due, even if that date is respective months before your lease expires .
The Rental Unit Is Unsafe or Violates Georgia Health or Safety Codes
If your landlord does not provide habitable house under local and department of state caparison codes, a woo would probably conclude that you have been “ constructively evicted ; ” this means that the landlord, by supplying unlivable house, has for all practical purposes “ evicted ” you, so you have no further duty for the economic rent. The problem must be rightfully serious, such as the miss of inflame or other substantive serve.
Your Landlord Harasses You or Violates Your Privacy Rights
Georgia does not have a department of state police that covers the total of notice your landlord must give you to enter rental property. If your landlord repeatedly violates your rights to privacy, or does things like removing windows or doors, turning off your utilities, or changing the locks, you would be considered “ constructively evicted, ” as described above ; this would normally justify you breaking the lease without foster rent duty .
Landlord’s Duty to Find a New Tenant in Georgia
Landlords in most states ( for exemplar, Arizona ) must make a reasonable campaign to re-rent their units when a tenant breaks a rent, rather than charge the tenant for the total remain rend due under the rent. unfortunately, landlords in Georgia ( Peterson v. Midas Realty Corp., 287 S.E.2d 61 ( Ga. Ct. App. 1981 ) ) do not have the lapp province to “ mitigate damages ” by trying to rent their property reasonably cursorily and keeping their losses to a minimum if you move before a lease ends. If you break your rent and move out without a legal justification ( described above ), try to work something out with your landlord. Do n’t just move out and hope your landlord gets a raw tenant promptly and does n’t charge you for the remaining time on your lease. Provide your landlord as a lot notice as possible and write a earnest letter explaining why you need to leave early. ideally, you can offer your landlord a certified surrogate tenant with good credit rating and references, to sign a newly lease .
But keep in mind, that if the landlord does n’t agree to let you off the hook, you will be liable for paying economic rent for the end of your rent. This could be a solid sum of money if you leave respective months before your rent ends. Your landlord will credibly first use your security deposition to cover the amount you owe. But if your deposit is not sufficient, your landlord may sue you, probably in modest claims court where the limit is $ 15,000 in Georgia .
How to Minimize Your Financial Responsibility When Breaking a Lease
If you want to leave early, and you do n’t have legal justification to do so, there are better options than just moving out and hoping your landlord gets a new tenant cursorily. There ‘s a lot you can do to limit the sum of money you need to pay your landlord—and serve ensure a dear character from the landlord when you ‘re looking for your adjacent invest to live.
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You can help the situation a lot by providing deoxyadenosine monophosphate much notification as possible and writing a sincere letter to your landlord explaining why you need to leave early. ideally you can offer your landlord a certified replacement tenant, person with commodity credit and excellent references, to sign a new rent with your landlord .
More Information on Tenant Rights to Break a Lease
Every tenant ‘s Legal Guide, by Janet Portman and Marcia Stewart ( Nolo ) provides extensive legal and hardheaded advice that every tenant needs, from move in to move out, including how to get your landlord to cancel your rent, plus dozens of forms and sample letters .
More Information on Landlord-Tenant Law in Georgia
To learn more about landlord-tenant laws in your state, see the State Landlord-Tenant Laws incision of the Nolo site .
