This is not a new topic but I haven't a clue where to start. I recently relocated here (TN) from MI and rented an apartment after about 4 months of working my current job. Unfortunately, the what I was told I'd be making have decreased to about half and I am stuck with an apartment I cannot afford. I could get a 2nd job but honestly it still wouldn't make a huge difference. What I want to do is terminate my lease since i've only been there 2 months now.

I've been told that landlords in Tennessee can be really intimidating in hopes that they will scare you into meeting all of their demands when trying to termintate a lease early, BUT that they really don't have very strong legal "rights", to enforce if a tenant absolutely has to get out of it.

My question is what's gonna happen if I can't pay my rent? Do they just evict me and sue for the rest of their money? I immediately stopped by the rental office to advised the assistant mgr of my financial situation and I've sent written documentation as soon as I knew my financial situation had changed directly to the property mgr. I even asked if they could modify my lease from 1 yr to 6 mos (or preferrably 4 months) as I KNOW I won't be able to pay them by next month. I thought they'd be willing to work this out but no one returns my calls and 3 weeks have gone by and then when I call I just get the assistant who passes me messages from the mgr that he hasn't had time to respond to my letters. What options do I have at this point?

If you don't pay your rent, the landlord can and will evict you. They will have to send you a notice to pay or quit (which will basically state that you either have to come up with the rent money or be evicted), then they will drag you to court - where the judge will decide how much you owe the landlord and how long you have to vacate. Since you are breaking the lease agreement by not paying rent, the landlord may be entitled to an amount equal to the rent for the remaining term of the lease plus whatever rent you already owe (plus late charges). Since you'd already let the landlord know that you weren't going to be able to pay I seriously doubt that they will shorten the term of your lease, since that will reduce the amount of money they are able to sue you for.

Thank you rain, I appreciate it. I was doing some reading in another forum and saw that if I can find someone to take over my lease the landlord has to accept a new tenant. Thinking if I could offer maybe to pay one or two of the utilities that would make it more appealing. Do you think that would work?

IF that's the case, and your landlord is required to accept a sublettor (which I'm not sure about, but if you say so) I wouldn't agree to pay any of the utilities. That's just my opinion. Unless you are going to sublet to someone whom you absolutely trust beyond a shadow of a doubt, or it's a particular utility that is a fixed price each month, you are asking for trouble. Your security deposit will already be on the line if you sublet (if the subletters cause any damages YOU will be paying for it out of your deposit) so just be careful who you turn the lease over to (and ask for a deposit of your own from them to cover your butt in case they are maniacs).

Do a search on Google for Tennessee Landlord Tenant Act and see if you can find any ACTUAL legislature to back this up. Forums aren't always the most accurate source of information.

I fullfilled all of my part of the lease. I gave a 60 day notice just like they asked, I cleaned all of my area and the areas that were both our responsiblity, and I turned in my keys. However, my roommate, who did NOT qualify to stay by himself, stayed and did NOT get a new roommate. Now the office is telling me that BOTH me AND my EX-roommate are responsible for the rent on a month to month basis until he leaves or gets a new roommate. I can't controle his actions BUT I'm being held responsible for his actions. What should I do?

You say you fulfilled your part of the lease... does that mean the lease period was over? Or did you leave before the lease ran out and just expect your roommate to figure things out by himself? Who did you give your notice to? What do you mean by "didn't qualify to stay by himself"? Is he still living there?

Yes the lease period is over. I gave my 60 day notice to the front office of the apartments. He tried to see if he FINANCIALLY qualified (i.e. did he make enough money to afford the apartment by himself) and he did NOT. and Yes he is still living there.

So instead of kicking him out of the apartment they simply put the TWO of us on a month to month basis claiming that BOTH of us are responsible for the monthly payments.

THANKS so much for the responce!

Your lease is over. You never signed a new lease and you gave your landlord plenty of notice that this was going to be the case. You are NOT responsible for paying any further rent or any costs your landlord claims you are liable for (except for any damages above "normal wear and tear" which CAN be deducted from your security deposit - make sure you take some pictures of the property to ensure your landlord does not charge you for any damages that do not exist). The landlord cannot "put you on a month to month lease" without your permission and ESPECIALLY if you don't even live there anymore!! If the roommate who stayed behind doesn't qualify to live there by himself, then the landlord needs to evict HIM. This has nothing to do with you, plain and simple.

Thanks again for your responce. Is there any legal information from a website or book that I show the apartment complex I used to live at? :)

Intially when I moved in there were several issues that it took me to send a certified letter to get taken care of. In my standards, the place is still not worth what I'm paying, it has an odor I thought would be resolved after the 2nd carpet clean. I complained that the walls are filthy, you can see where the painters painted over hair and dirt after the last tenant moved out. The maintenance guy says "oh the cleaning crew doesn't do walls..." I also have a bug problem but the apartments are old and I assume everyone has these issues. No roaches or anything but some small pests. Just wondering what would be considered UNLIVEABLE. How bad does the environment have to be to claim it unliveable and use that as an opt to get out of it?

I kinda feel at this point that if i bring any of this back up the manager will just think I'm trying to find a way out of the lease since I've already tried to negotiate shortening my lease with them.

find out what to do with your problem apartment? I am in the same mess in Chattanooga and have sent only one letter so far regarding a water leak and resultant mildew in my master closet. It's the only closet for clothes I have and I've had to remove my clothes 3x for maint. to "fix" the problem. It continues today and I plan on another letter tomorrow. ThHis will be over a month of the SAME problem. Isn't mildew a health violation?

What did you do or what advice did you get?

Any help is greatly appreciated

I haven't had any luck with my situation either. Now that they've switched management hands, it's like starting all over from the beginning. The new guy is worse! Won't take any of my calls. Puts threatening notes on the door about sending your account to collections. I even stopped by the office this weekend to pay for my water that is convieniently added to the monthly rent, was told there was a $69 late charge added to it that I've never heard of and that he was going to send it to collection. He never came out of his office, just passed this info and threats along thru his assistant who is totally desperate for her job and just does whatever he tells her to.

I'm not too sure what to do next at this point. In his eyes, my problems have been resolved. :( I'll probably consult a friend of my brother to see if there is any point in trying to build a case at this point.

Talked to a lawyer this weekend, she says the worst that could happen if I put in my 30 days notice to move out is that they try to get at most 2 months rent out of me and they can't demand the whole amount up front. She says they are required to "mitigate" if I spelled that correctly and try to find someone to lease the apt before determining what they want to hold me accountable for. She says her research showed TN has a 95% rental rate which means the possibility of the landlord finding a new tenant is very high and can be done quickly. So she says to find another apt to move to, give 30 days notice and be prepared to provided documentation of why I'm leaving and then just get ready to go to court. I was concerned that I'd be sued for the remaining several months of rent but she says they cannot do that if someone else rents it out within a few months. She says legally they must attempt to find a new tenant. So I guess I'm going to do that... kinda don't want the whole hassle but it's a hassle either way, to stay or get out of it.