questions & answers

Question: My husband obtained a new job out of town. We asked the property owner if we can break lease and forfeit all deposits. She says they don’t allow breach and we are responsible for the duration of the lease. We need to move but can’t afford to rent two houses. What can we do?

Answer: Many rental agreements contain early-termination penalty clauses, but many do not, in which case a tenant who wishes to terminate the rental agreement early may be required by the landlord to pay monthly rent through the end of the lease term, even if the tenant no longer resides in the dwelling. However, if a tenant moves out before the end of a rental agreement, the landlord does have a legal duty to “mitigate” – that is, a duty to do their best to reduce – any monetary damages the tenant will suffer (A.R.S. 33-1305(A)) by making a good faith effort to re-rent the unit as soon as possible. Tenants who expect to find themselves in this situation often try to line up a replacement before they move out. (As a general rule, a landlord may not charge both the former tenant and the new tenant simultaneously for the same unit.)