Whenever possible, try to negotiate a lease term that corresponds to the length of time you actually plan to occupy the premises. Despite your good intentions to fulfill the terms of your lease, you may wish to move before the end of your lease period. Your landlord does not necessarily have to hold you to the full term of the lease. With the landlord's consent, you may be able to terminate your tenancy and not be liable for future payments. Try to find a replacement tenant who is acceptable to your landlord and negotiate with your landlord: ask him/her to release you from your lease obligations and to sign a new lease with the new tenant. Be sure that any agreements are in writing for your own protection.

If you are unable to come to an agreement and you must leave your apartment, you have the options of subletting, assignment, or breaking the lease. Seek legal advice before breaking a lease. Remember, your lease is a legally binding agreement. If you break it in the middle of the term, you may be liable for ALL of the remaining rental payments.

Liability for Damages and/or Rent

In Boulder county, the landlord is required to make an honest effort to reduce his/her damages (money lost because of your actions) of unpaid rent. This means that the landlord cannot lawfully withhold your security deposit or win in a suit against you for unpaid rent if the landlord did not make a reasonable effort to re-rent the premises.

The landlord can only deduct (from your security deposit) or sue you for actual damages (money lost by the landlord because of your actions or omissions). If the landlord was able to re-rent the premises, you will be liable only for the time when the apartment remained vacant while you were responsible for the rent, plus other consequential damages, such as advertising costs. (However, if the landlord rents the apartment for less than the amount of rent you would have paid, you may have to pay the difference.) For example, if the landlord was able to rent the apartment for three of the five months left in a lease, then you would be responsible for two months' rent and reasonable re-rental costs, such as advertising, should the landlord decide to take you to court. If the landlord rents the apartment immediately for the full amount of the rent, then you will not be responsible for any unpaid rent, though you may have to pay for reasonable re-rental costs. As a final note, if the landlord decided to raise the rent before filling your vacancy, it is possible that your responsibility for the lease may be dissolved.

Here are a few steps you can take to protect yourself if you must break your lease:

1. Give written notice of your intent to vacate as soon as possible so the landlord may have a greater chance of finding new tenants.

2. Help the landlord find new tenants to replace you. You may wish to place an advertisement in the local newspaper yourself, and list with Off-Campus Student Services.

3. Check to see if a rental ad has been placed in the paper by the landlord.

4. Have a friend call the landlord, making notes of the conversation, to ask if an apartment is available, when, and for how much.

5. If you have acquaintances or people responding to your ad who would like to rent the apartment, introduce them to the landlord. Keep records of this. If the landlord unreasonably refuses to rent, you may have a good defense should you need to go to court to retrieve your deposit or to defend yourself against a suit brought by the landlord.

6. Check to see if a new tenant moved in before your responsibility for the apartment was up. By law the landlord cannot collect double rent.