questions & answers

Question: MY LANDLORD OFFERED ME ANOTHER UNIT BECAUSE HE SAID IT HAD MORE SPACE ME NOT KNOWING I SIGNED A LEASE FOR ANOTHER 8 MONTHS AND I WANT TO MOVE IN APRIL PRIOR TO THAT LEASE I SIGNED ON IN APRIL WHEN I FIRST MOVED IN FOR THE SMALLER UNIT IT HASN'T EVEN BEEN A YEAR DO I HAVE TO LIVE OUT THE LEASE AGREEMENT FOR THE UNIT HE OFFERED TO ME FOR ANOTHER 6 MONTHS

Answer: Ordinarily, a tenant is responsible for doing whatever the tenant promised to do according to the terms of the rental agreement, as long as those terms were lawful and as long as the tenant knew what the tenant was agreeing to and did so voluntarily. If you did not know what you were agreeing to (or were tricked by your landlord somehow), then the agreement may not be enforceable, but you will need to be able to prove this in court if you move out before the lease has expired and your landlord decides to sue you for unpaid rent. However, even if you did know what you were agreeing to, but now wish that you had not, you still have options. You may wish to speak with your landlord and try to come up with a new arrangement that works well for both of you. Even if you were to move out at the end of March, your landlord would still be required to attempt to find another tenant to take your place in order to “mitigate” his damages (A.R.S. 33-13050.)