Re: Am I liable to pay penalty?

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On 1/07/07, renter123 wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I am new to this forum and was hoping that you guys could
> give me some insight on the tenant rights in NJ.
>
> My wife and I leased an apartment in July of last year for
a
> 1 year lease. Unfortunately, we might have to vacate the
> apartment at the end of Feb due to job reasons.
>
> The lease contract has a clause in it that says:
>
> If the tenant wishes to terminate the lease before the end
> of the term, the landlord, at his option, will agree to a
> release in accordance with the following schedule and
> payment of the required fee at least 30 days in advance of
> the termination date which will be considered liquidated
> damages.
>
> Termination during 1st nine months = 2 months rent
> Termination during the last three months = 1 month rent
>
> Since end of Feb is only 8 months, we will end up paying 2
> months extra
>
> But I read the following online at LSNJ Law
> http://www.lsnjlaw.org/english/place...five/index.cfm
>
> If a tenant moves out before the lease ends, the landlord
> must try to re-rent the apartment. This means that in order
> to recover rent for the months left on the lease, the
> landlord must prove that he or she tried to find another
> tenant but could not. The landlord must show, for example,
> that he or she immediately began advertising the apartment
> and interviewing tenants. Cite: Sommer v. Kridel, 74 N.J.
> 446 (1977).
>
> Do we still owe 2 months rent? Or if the landlord finds a
> new tenant, we might get our refund back?
>
> Thank you for reading and we would appreciate your
responses.
> renter123

Per your lease agreement, you are liable for the fees. It's
true that the landlord must make every attempt to rerent
ASAP (mitigate damages) and yes you might get a refund if
they can re-rent the unit, but it's no gaurantee that you
will.