Should I break my lease or not . . . . .

[ET Awful]

Okay, hate the noise level in my apartment (love it other than that), have found a much better apartment about 3-4 blocks away.

The situation is this:

The new apartment offers 2 free months rent when I move in. I do have to pay the first month and a $500 deposit, but then no payments until January (assuming I move in October 1).

The old apartment has a lease in effect (I thought the renewal went into effect on Sept. 1, but actually it was Aug. 1). So, if I break the lease, I remain liable for rent in the new place until it's rented.

Now, it's a very nice apartment and will likely rent quickly, and utilizing the 2 free months from the new place would allow me to pay November and December rent at the old place without too much hassle.

So, basically I'd be betting that the place could be rented by a new tenant by Jan. 1st, at which point I couldn't really afford to pay for two places.

So come on DUers, should I roll the dice or not?

[Mutley]

1. I would probably go for it.

In my experience, nice apartments will go pretty fast. I think two months would be plenty of time to find a new tenant for the old apartment. You could even help out and try to find someone who might be interested yourself.

If you live in an area where it is more difficult to find tenants, though, you might want to stay where you are.

[WatchWhatISay]

2. Does the new place take cats?

Looks like you might have a few

[ET Awful]

6. Cats are no problem. n/t

[demnan]

3. Can you sublet your old place?

and move into the new place? Even if you didn't get as much money as you wanted (due to the small amount of time you'll be renting it out) if you found a responsible renter, wouldn't that be a good solution? People moving often have to rent for a month or two before the new home is ready.

[ET Awful]

7. I could possibly do that, BUT . . .

Would I do it from now until August 1 of next year (when the lease is actually up)? I don't know if I could do that.

However, I can work to find a tenant as well, i.e. advertising on Craigslist, etc.

[DK666]

4. If you can prove

that the noise is affecting your sleep get a doctors note and you wont have to honor the remaining part of your lease.

[ET Awful]

8. Now there's a possibility I hadn't considered . . .

Hmmmm. . . I wonder what it would take.

Thanks for the thought, maybe I'll check with my doctor and see what the possibility is of having him do that.

[Rising Phoenix]

5. go for it

[northzax]

9. are you sure your lease renewal

went to a full year? read the fine print, in many places, unless they specifically tell you so, and you sign another lease, you go to 6 months or month to month. I DC, for instance, leases automatically go to month to month unless you sign a new one. And you actually have to sign, remaining in the apartment is not consent to a new lease.

[ET Awful]

10. Yes it's a year.

I signed the renewal back in February prior to the new neighbors moving in and the noise becoming more of an issue than ever before.

[Capn Sunshine]

12. What you're talking about is called "Right to quiet enjoyment"

The conditions under which you originally signed the lease have materially changed for the worse due to an action on the part of your landlord (Renting to noisy tenants). If you complain in writing about the problem, and nothing happens, the landlord has violated the effective terms of your lease.

Consult a tenant rights or legal aid organization in your city for more details.

[ET Awful]

15. Thanks, that may be exactly the terminology I'm looking for

I'll follow up on it.

Much appreciated.

[babylonsister]

11. Just a thought: are you SURE there's not

going to be any noise problems in the new place?

[ET Awful]

14. Yes, I'm sure.

We tested it :). They have a stereo in their demo/show unit. We cranked the stereo and went into the vacant apartment next door. Couldn't hear a thing :).

[Gormy Cuss]

13. Go ahead, give notice and tell them why.

It sounds like odds are good it won't hurt your pocket. It is important to tell the current landlord that the noise is your beef. If you haven't complained to them, the impression is that you think the noise level is a problem for you but might not be for someone else. If the general management has been OK, there's no need to burn bridges. You will preserve a good landlord reference by handling it professionally.
Of course, if the management is terrible, then it hardly matters.