# Breaking a Lease



## Janus (Oct 23, 2013)

I just signed a 1 year lease with a landlord and am instantly regretting it. In my rush to secure a place I didn't pay enough attention to the *insane *nuisance that a nearby construction site will be. I had no idea how bad toronto's noise laws were until this morning, my first day in the apartment. The noise level at 7:01am is frankly unbelievable.

So what are my rights within the law here, and what's reasonable to expect with my landlord? I don't want to screw them over. I've paid first and last, and agreed to 2 months notice, but it's essentially a one year lease. What's a fair way to break the lease? Full 60 days notice and sacrifice my deposit? I'd be more than happy to give the landlord *plenty *of time to find a new tenant. I'd seek to do this amicably.


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## Davis (Nov 11, 2014)

In addition to notice, you can expect to pay for the landlord's cost of finding a new tenant (e.g., advertising) and rent for any period that the apartment is vacant while s/he is finding a new tenant. if you're lucky, the landlord has a list of other people who were interested and can move in quickly.


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## Woz (Sep 5, 2013)

Tenant laws are different for each province, so this is for Ontario only.

Legally you can only break a lease if (1) the landlord agrees, (2) you assign the rental, or (3) just cause such as harassment, safety, etc.

If you break the lease without proper notice then you’re liable for any of the landlord’s losses. The landlord would be responsible for minimizing those losses.

I’d always talk to the landlord first to try and come to an agreement. If you can’t come to an agreement then I’d ask consent to assign the rental unit. If the landlord refuses consent then you can legally give him 30 days notice. If the landlord does not respond to your request within 7 days you can give your 30 days notice. If the landlord agrees to assignment but arbitrarily refuses a potential assignee then you can give 30 days notice.


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## OnlyMyOpinion (Sep 1, 2013)

After 1 day? Maybe you need to give it a month or so. See what the noisy construction schedule is over a week, how long it is likely to last, etc. If you chose the place for other good reasons such as location, cost, etc. Who knows, in a month you may even find that sitting with a beer and watching the construction is entertaining.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

A lease is a legal contract and you are obliged to pay rent for a year whether you live there or not.

As a landlord with many years experience my policy is, if someone wants to move, to make it as easy for them as possible. I would advertise and rent the apartment to someone else and let the first tenant out of their lease, if they paid for reasonable expenses (basically a few newspaper ads) and paid rent up until the new tenant moved in.

Talk to the landlord first. Tell him you changed your mind and want to move see what he, or she says.


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## Janus (Oct 23, 2013)

Well, I talked to the landlord and everything went OK. They understood and offered to kill the lease in 60 days or whenever they find someone, whichever is sooner.

Bit of a life lesson learned in how to approach things - be nice, be accommodative (I offered to pay any listing/ad fees), and try to work towards a mutual agreement. The other party might be more generous than you think (luckily for me this time, they were).


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## Cal (Jun 17, 2009)

Glad it worked out for you.


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## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

Nice to see a reasonable tenant is still out there, as a landlord, I can say we appreciate people like you.

Too many times, we only hear about the tenants who decide to sue their landlord, then report them, and generally just try to make their lives miserable...all while feeling they were the real aggrieved party because they were the renter, not the "rich greedy landlord". 

In my experience, it's really a double 90/10 rule with 90% being good and only 10% being bad (and of that 10% , 10% are REALLY BAD), but it seems like you only ever hear about that 10% when people talk about tenants.


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## CharlesF.Donahue (Jan 7, 2015)

Rusty O'Toole said:


> A lease is a legal contract and you are obliged to pay rent for a year whether you live there or not.
> 
> As a landlord with many years experience my policy is, if someone wants to move, to make it as easy for them as possible. I would advertise and rent the apartment to someone else and let the first tenant out of their lease, if they paid for reasonable expenses (basically a few newspaper ads) and paid rent up until the new tenant moved in.
> 
> Talk to the landlord first. Tell him you changed your mind and want to move see what he, or she says.


Yes you are right I agree with your point, if you want to move it was easy for them to move you but unless they didn't get any other tenant, they will not allow you to break the lease easily. I think first you talk to your landlord and tell him about your problem and tell him to take action regarding your problem or let you go from the house with completing the rules and regulations.


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