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Lease agreement grace period?
7 days ago, myself and three other people have signed a one year contract to lease an townhouse. On today, the seventh day after signing the agreement, which is nine days before we take ownership, We have found out two of the people who are on the lease cannot make the payments for emergency reasons. Do we have a grace period in which we can void the contract, and no pay a penalty AND get our damage deposit back, which we paid when we signed the lease. Please do not be vague on our options.
Public Comments
- None of you have any unrestricted options, including the two who "cannot make the payments." You're all completely on the hook. You are all fully liable under the "jointly and severally" clause every lease contains. Depending on other clauses of the lease you may have the ability to substitute others in their places. As it stands you could be out the full deposit and one to three months rent. Contact the landlord immediately and negotiate.
- It depends on what your contract that you signed says, and the kindness and generosity of the people who are managing the lease. I would talk with them immediately and ask what your options are. Worse case scenario (to me, without reading the contract) is that you will owe until they rent the place to someone else. It's possible that your lease has a buy out clause of (hypothetically) two months rent. So, in that case you owe for two months rent only and then you are free. I think you could definitely argue to get your damage deposit back because you never moved in at all. Perhaps that can be applied to the rent if the people want youto pay for a month or two. You and the one friend can move in and try to find two new roommates to take over for the two people who can't come up with the money. The two people who cannot come up with the money are the two people who will owe. You could cover their cost and sue them for their share.
- We need to know what state you are in because most do not have a grace period, but some do. A lease is typically legally binding the second you sign it. If you break the lease you must pay the penalties, even if you have never moved in. This is standard in most states. That said, not all landlords follow the letter of the law and may let you out with out penalty. You have no way of knowing until you ask them.
