A broken lease apartment refers to an apartment that’s up for grabs for the reason that its previous tenant has broken the lease agreement. This means that for whatever legal or valid reason the tenant had, they had to vacate the apartment earlier than the timeframe that was agreed in the contract. For the landlord, this can be a troublesome situation wherein he has to find another tenant as soon as possible. That tenant could be you!
From the renting perspective, there are benefits that you can gain from choosing to rent broken lease apartments. Here are some of these advantages:
- You Don’t Need A Lot Of Renovations
As mentioned, broken lease apartments are those that just had a tenant previously leave the space. However, remember that in the law, a tenant cannot just break lease contracts at will, without legal reasons, such as being transferred to another place for work as is the case with military men, and if you’re leaving a domestic abuse situation. Because these reasons are valid, it is rarely the case that a lease contract is broken because the apartment is an unrentable situation. Given that there was previously a tenant, this also means that much of the house is in working order.
This positive state of an apartment is better compared to an apartment that’s unoccupied for a long time. If you opt for the latter, chances are, before you can even live in the apartment, you’ll still have to undergo numerous renovations.
- You Might Temporarily Pay A Cheaper Rent
If you think that there aren’t numerous broken lease apartments waiting for tenants, you’re wrong. By simply Googling “apartments for rent with bad credit/evictions near me”, you’re set to find out numerous options.
This can be financially great for you, especially if you’re renting on a budget. Suppose, for example, the original tenant had six months left in the apartment, as signed in the lease contract. But, they have no other choice because the family is relocated to another country for a job opening. In this case, yes, the tenant is allowed to break the lease, but sometimes it comes with the condition that they must be willing to pay the rent until a new tenant comes in.
If you’re lucky, for the remaining six months, the original tenant can offer a discounted rental price for you, simply because they’re happy enough to have someone else helping them pay the rent for the lease contract that they broke. If you’re renting, you know how every drop of discount counts.
- You Can Move In Right Away
When you decide on renting a broken lease apartment, you enjoy the benefit of being able to move in right away. In most cases, these apartments are already on a livable situation. If you’re lucky enough, you might even find that there are some furniture left, and what not. Hence, because of the lesser renovation job that you’ll have to do, you can move in right away to the property.
Second, it’s also likely the case that the paperwork is going to take time. For the time being, you are first merely assuming the lease that the previous tenant broke. This cuts away time that could’ve otherwise taken so much longer, had you been the original tenant of the apartment.
- You’re Aware Of The Landlord’s Profile And History
In any contract, it’s still best if both parties know a little background about each other. If you think that it’s only the landlord who has the duty of doing a background check on his tenants, you’re wrong. It can benefit you, too, if you make it a point also to do a profile and history check of your landlord.
When you do this, you’re more aware of how you might be able to approach your landlord should any problem arise, or that if you’re safe in the landlord’s premises.
When you’re taking over a broken lease apartment, chances are, you’ll be meeting and talking a lot with the original tenant who broke the lease. It’s up to you to take advantage of this opportunity to ask whatever it is you want to know from that tenant about your future landlord. Else, you might end up not satisfied with your landlord, and you have no other recourse but to break the lease. This fact alone makes the whole leasing process easier for you.
Conclusion
If you’re leaning towards enjoying these benefits, and many more, as you rent apartments, it can be to your advantage to first ask your potential landlord if they have properties available for rent, that came out of a broken lease.
Negotiating lease agreements, whether as the original tenant or the second one renting from a broken lease agreement, isn’t as daunting as it seems. This can be one of your very first options when renting. Not only are you doing yourself a favor, but you’re also making these landlords happy by finally having another tenant to take over the broken lease apartment.
