Best Way to Break Lease Due to Street Noise?
I’m a tenant, 5 months into a 14 month lease, and need to move out due to unbearable noise coming from neighbors, but not in my building. My questions are: 1) What’s the best way to approach the landlord about breaking the lease? 2) What are the odds of them letting me out of it?…
I’m a tenant, 5 months into a 14 month lease, and need to move out due to unbearable noise coming from neighbors, but not in my building.
My questions are:
1) What’s the best way to approach the landlord about breaking the lease?
2) What are the odds of them letting me out of it?
3) Does it help if I offer to find subletters or someone to take over the lease?
4) Can I expect to get my deposit back, provided that people move in right when I move out?
5) Theoretically a person could make up any reason for moving – allergies, moving in with girlfriend, whatever – so does it matter what my real reason is?
The truth is, there’s outrageously loud music coming from across the street, across the alley, and through the walls from the adjacent building. It can run from 8pm to 3:00am Friday and then 11:00am to 3:00am Saturday and Sunday. It sounds like it’s from bars but it’s not – it’s just people blasting stereos louder than I’ve ever heard in 25 years of apartment living.
There’s occasionally noise from within my building but the external noise is much worse. So, there’s nothing the landlord could do about it.
The stress is affecting my mental health and job performance and my therapist is willing to write a letter confirming this.
I’ve called 311 numerous times but only have a couple of the case numbers. Presumably I could document the other instances from my cell phone bills but those don’t prove that I made noise complaints. And I pretty much gave up calling anyway since it never once made any difference.
You may be wondering if anyone else complains about the noise. My guess is that for most people in this neighborhood it’s a part of their culture, or at least, they know what they’re getting into.
Noise can drive a person crazy and i’m sure the landlord knows it. If you talk to the LL, he/she will probably listen and be ok with you moving out AFTER they have found a new tenant. Keep in mind that if he/she paid a commission (realtor) to get you in, you should PAY the difference between such commission and the remaining months to the end of the lease. In other words, as long as you moving doesn’t cause any $$$ losses to the landlord, i don’t see why he/she would want to keep an unhappy tenant around.
I agree that I would be aware of the possibility that your sublettors may want to duck out after a month or two, putting you back on the hook to find new ones..etc. Could become a vicious circle for the next 6-9 months.
It seems like it would be better to just try to get fully out of the lease, working reasonably with the LL..etc rather than trying to find someone who is ok with this noise.
Clean break is the best way, even if it costs you something.
If you are going out of your gourd, just talk to the landlord and tell him you want to move. How hard is that? Forget getting the subtenant. I am a landlord and I am the one picking tenants, why would I give that huge responsibility to the tenant. Negotiate something with him/her. Of course the racket will stop in 6 weeks or so probably more than what you will forfeit in rent if you leave early. It will get cold and people will go inside.
Or if you are too worried about all of this, go to a tenant landlord lawyer who can help you like Marc Aronson on Smith Street.
Nothing confusing about the language. The landlord need not accept the assignment for any reason or no reason. However, if there is not a good reason to reject the assignment, you are released from the lease, but the propsoed assignee cannot assume the lease.
What do you plan to tell the prospective subtenant when s/he asks you why you are moving? This will be your headache if they can’t stand the noise and need to move out, and a bigger headache if sub-t thinks you pulled a fast one on the noise issue. You will still be on the hook with the LL. You need to take stock — is it objectively that bad or are you overly sensitive (not a criticism, we all have our things that bug us)? Why would this rental work out for someone else, but not you? Is the noise a year-round problem or a summer issue?
I would start with a conversation with LL about the noise and how difficult it is but without asking to be let out or to sublet. Treat it like a problem to solve, and escalate to a move out if no other alternative emerges.
Just talk to the ll about your issue. If you find a tenant who is acceptable to them, maybe they will let you out of your lease.
Agree that the language is confusing. My understanding is that you put forth a reasonably credit-worthy person who is willing to take over the lease and you were entitled to be released from the lease if the landlord refused. If you find someone for the lease assignment and the landlord accepts, you should not have responsibility for that person’s tenancy going forward.
1) Depends on your relationship with ll.
2) Slim to none. even if you find a subleter you still have contractual obligations under the lease (unless they let you assign the lease, which they probably won’t)
3) Check your lease. Likely you have right to sublet and Landlord cannot unreasonably withhold consent per NY law. But the obligation to find subletters is entirely on you — landlord has no incentive to do this.
4) LL should and will hold your deposit to the end of the lease term (again unless you assign the lease, which they prob won’t allow). You will want to get your own deposit from sublettors.
5) No, but you’re still going to be paying rent unless someone sublets form you.
Keep in mind that if you sublet your apartment, you still have a contractual rel w/ ll to pay rent. The sublettors then have a separate contractual obligation to pay rent to you. Even if the landlord agrees to accept rent from the sublettors in lieu of rent from you, you still have obligations under the lease
I’m confused by the following language about subletting and assigning, from the NYC Rent Guidelines board. First it says the landlord can refuse without cause, but then goes on to say the tenant can be released if the landlord unreasonably refuses consent.
It seems vague on whether the landlord is *required* to accept an assignee (or subletter) with reasonably good credit and rental history. Can they simply refuse? – say, because of the potential hassle of going after me in case the assignee turns out to be a deadbeat (which of course I don’t want to happen, because I’d be held responsible… right?)
from NYC RGB:
“The landlord may withhold consent without cause. If the landlord reasonably refuses consent, the tenant cannot assign and is not entitled to be released from the lease. If the landlord unreasonably refuses consent, the tenant is entitled to be released from the lease within 30 days from the date the request was given to the landlord. Real Property Law § 226-b(1).”