I took a job out of state and had to break my lease in Manhattan.
There are 3 months left on the lease.
I agreed to forfeit the security deposit; however, it will not go toward one of the 3 months rent left on the lease. Is that legal?
But, my more pressing situation is this:
I found new tenants, and contacted the landlord, as did the prospective new tenants. We both contacted them multiple times; however, it took nearly a week for the landlord to respond to the potential new tenants with the necessary paperwork. Because it took too long, the potential new tenants no longer wanted to rent my apartment.
This is a lease assignment situation.
The landlord's negligence directly hindered my ability to re-rent the apartment, alleviating me of the responsibility for the next 3 months. I believe this also goes against laws I've read that the landlord must make a good faith effort to re-rent the apartment in an effort to mitigate damages.
If the landlord sues me for the remaining 3 months rent, will I win in court because their negligence lead to the apartment not being re-rented before my lease was up?
Any legal guidance would be much appreciated. Thank you!