How a Broken Lease may Affect You and What It Is

Do you have a broken lease on your record? If you do its not the worst thing in the world. However, it will inhibit your ability to lease apartment homes in the state of Texas. Prospective renters are always calling us asking if we can help them secure an apartment home with a broken lease. The answer in short is not if you would like to live in a nice place with nice people.

For those of you who don’t know what a broken lease is we will define it here for you. A broken lease occurs when the renter simply leaves his apartment community without fulfilling the terms of the agreement. When you sign a lease contract you must perform on the contract, paying rent and satisfying the terms of your lease. Every lease contract also has a buyout clause. Situations occur like a new job or the birth of a child that might require the tenant to leave early.

To terminate your lease in good standing usually requires a fee that is sometimes up to 2 months rent in advance. Even though you may feel it is a little much, the apartment community must re-lease the unit to someone else and that takes time. They must also recondition the apartment home so it meets that standards it had when you may have first moved into it.

What Happens If I Don’t Pay

The worst thing that you can do is nothing. A broken lease will do a few things for you. You will never be able to lease at a nice community again. It probably will lower your credit score and it definitely will appear on your credit report.

As far as purchasing a home, you might be able to do that, however you most likely will have an increased interest rate as banks will see this as a clear warning sign. If you left an apartment high and dry you might do that to the next person to.

Individuals with broken leases usually have more than one. And there are usually a host of other credit issues that appear alongside a broken lease.

I Don’t Have The Money To Pay, What Can I Do:

Many times you can work out a payment plan if you have to leave early. Apartment communities would rather have your money than no money at all. If you just owe on two months they may allow you 6 months to pay it off.

If you do have a broken lease remember that you can always pay it off and live in an apartment again. Remember though that it will not disappear from your credit report.

Please read more about Apartments in the Woodlands.