Breaking Your San Francisco Lease: If you’re considering breaking a residential lease agreement, California laws can either benefit you or stand in your way. You may face extra fees if you break your lease early and don’t have a valid legal reason for doing so.
However, you may find some situations when you can break your lease. So, if you need more facts on breaking a lease in San Francisco, all the details you need are in this article.
Read until the end to get the information you require.
What Are the Costs of Breaking Your San Francisco Lease?
If you break a lease in San Francisco, California, you can expect to pay your landlord a termination fee of approximately one- or two months’ rent.
This expectation isn’t always the case; you may have a good reason for leaving that stands you in legal stead.
Why Do Tenants Have to Pay a Fee if They Break Their Lease in San Francisco?
Tenants must pay a fee if they break their lease in San Francisco since landlords don’t have to follow any legal requirements to release them from the lease agreement.
A landlord can charge you substantial fees if you break your lease.
Are There Any Situations in Which It’s Possible to Break a Lease in San Francisco?
Yes, there are a few situations when breaking a lease in San Francisco is possible.
Some of the main examples of such situations include the following points:
- If the tenant suffers domestic violence or assault
- If the tenant decides to enter military duty
- If the rental property is not inhabitable and the landlord won’t repair significant damage
- If the rental property violates safety or health codes (such as black mold)
- If the tenant suffers harassment from the landlord
These situations are legally valid reasons to break a lease in San Francisco, meaning you can break your lease without any agreement from a landlord.
What Happens if Your Reason for Breaking the Lease Is Not Legally Valid?
If your reason for breaking the lease doesn’t comply with the law, you may need to discuss your situation with your landlord.
Providing sufficient evidence to demonstrate that you cannot comply with the lease agreement is important and can work in your favor.
For instance, if one of your family members has a chronic illness and you must break the lease to live closer to them, providing a copy of a letter to your landlord from the family doctor may help you.
In other situations, you may be able to convince your landlord that they can make a better income if you break your lease early.
Your landlord may consider increasing the rent when you move out early, so consider the mutual benefits if you’re looking for a reason for Breaking Your San Francisco Lease,
What Are the Alternative Consequences of Breaking a Lease in the U.S.?
There are a few consequences of breaking a lease in the U.S., for example your landlord may ask you to pay a termination fee early or request that you find a tenant to replace you.
They may ask you to pay the remaining costs stipulated in the lease agreement.
What Happens if You Cannot Pay the Costs Of Breaking a Lease in the U.S.?
If you cannot pay the costs related to breaking a lease in the U.S., your landlord may take you to the small claims court – to get the money you owe them.
Alternatively, your landlord could also solicit support from a collection agency to receive their costs.
Will You Have a Worse Credit Score for Breaking a Lease?
If you break your lease, you won’t notice a direct impact on your credit score. However, there are some consequences that your landlord can take, such as the collection of owed rent, which can affect your credit score.
Track the fees you owe and monitor what you have already paid your landlord to safeguard your credit score.
Which Document Should You Use to Verify the End of Your Lease?
If you’ve reached an agreement with your landlord and have ended your lease, you can use a mutual termination of the tenancy contract document to outline the arrangement you have set up.
Breaking a Lease in San Francisco: All the Vital Points
Here are the takeaway points if you consider breaking a lease in San Francisco.
Remember that you may have to pay fees if you don’t have a good legal reason to move out early and that your credit score may suffer if your landlord sends collectors to get the rental fees you owe them.
But don’t forget that you may be able to convince your landlord to let you break your lease early if it’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.