Ending Lease Early in Berkeley

Assuming this is a residential lease, I'd urge you to contact the Berkeley rent board. Renter protections are really strong in Berkeley and they will help you avoid any adverse action your landlord might take. I know from previous experience ending a lease early in SF that the landlord has a duty to seek a replacement tenant and can't simply sit and collect rent from you for six months. Good luck, and congrats on the job!

Hi, it depends on what the landlord says. Have you spoken with them?  I'd go to the Rent Board (either online or in person) if I were you. Best of luck. 

Hello,

You could find a replacement, it should be easy to find a good reliable new tenant to carry on with your lease in Berkeley. Try to post on a UC Berkeley mailing list for example. I might also be interested. PM me some details if you're interested.

Cheers!

I personally think as long as you help locate a good tenant to take over at the time you want to leave and communicate with landlord about the process, a reasonable owner will not have problem with that. I think communicating ahead of time would be a good idea, and see what the expectation might be.  If it is a decent location, you should not have a hard time finding tenant for Berkeley.  

We have property that I help relative rent out, that is the attitude I always take, for someone who care about the property, having a good transition is much better than trying to keep someone's deposit. but I guess I can't speak for everyone.  

good luck. 

Give your landlord as much notice as you can and make sure you accommodate any request the landlord has about showing your property to prospective tenants.  While technically you are on the hook for the remainder of the lease, a landlord is required to mitigate damage by finding a new tenant asap.  Thus, they can't just do nothing and tell you that you owe them 6 months rent.  If by some chance there is a month of down time between tenants, you would be liable for that.  But in this market, there shouldn't be much down time.  Once they have a new tenant, that replaces your lease obligation, meaning they cannot charge a new tenant and you for the same time period.  Hope this helps.  You can probably verify this info with Berkeley Rent Control Board.

My understanding is that you are obligated to pay the lease BUT that the landlord is also obligated to make a good faith effort to lease your place. That means the more notice you give hte better. If your contract specifies arbitration, you will likely not have to pay it all because they know landlords can lease it.  Good luck!

I'm a landlord and also have a relocation and rental company so I deal with this all the time.

Check your lease regarding any specific terms that might be in there regarding early termination, but in general tenants are responsible for the cost of re-renting (any update or real estate fees, etc.) and responsible for the rent until someone else starts paying it.  Landlords are required to fill the vacancy - they can't just charge you for the remaining 6 months without putting someone else in.  

First, read your lease and see what it says about breaking it. Then, talk to your landlord and see if you can work something out. S/he may ask you to advertise and show your space to potential new tenants that s/he could then screen. They may expect you to pay rent until it is re-rented. Apartments are difficult to rent in the winter, so if you are leaving then, it could be expensive. Alternatively, one of you could stay (maybe getting a new roommate?) until the lease is over, and the one with the new job could look for a roommate situation out of state until the two of you can reunite. 

Good Luck!

It probably won't be a big problem. I own a four pled of apartments in Berkeley and we have had tenants leave early several times. The landlord is required to do due diligence to find a new renter, and because Berkeley has a generally good rental market, the unit can usually easily be re-rented.  With enough advance notice to your landlord, they may be able to have a new renter come in right after you leave. If that's the case, you won't owe your landlord extra money. If the apartment sits empty however (no renter to be found), then you do continue to be responsible for the rent. 

I've needed to break a couple of leases in California.  My experience is that because it's easy to fill vacancies--often at a higher rent--landlords are amenable if you offer to facilitate showing the unit and promise to leave it spotless. They also appreciate advance warning ahead of the 30-day notice.  Main thing is that they not lose rental income, so you may end up paying extra rent unless the new lease starts immediately after yours ends. In my case I just negotiated verbally because the landlords involved were decent people.  Not sure what else would be required from a legal perspective if things need to be pinned down in writing.

I am a landlord, and I can tell you that, in a market where rents are going up crazily, I would LOVE one of my tenants to break a lease early. Your landlord will profit from this, and probably be quite reasonable. The minor pain in the ass of getting a new tenant should be worth it to this person.