I need to leave the house early, but my landlord threatened me saying, 'You have a legal obligation, you can't leave.' However, there's no such clause in the rental agreement. Should I hire a lawyer or can we sort this out between us? Has anyone experienced this situation?
I experienced the same thing, you know! My landlord was really angry at first. But it's clear and simple: if it's not written in the lease, you can leave. I tried to negotiate, I paid two more months' rent and left. But legally, they can't force you, so relax.
Yeah, that's true, but if you had said it a bit earlier, it might have been easier to handle. The guy's gone mad, which is normal. Looking for a rented house is stressful on its own. Saying you're leaving at the last minute stresses people out. You might be right, but the way of doing things matters too.
If there is no clause regarding termination in the lease agreement, they cannot legally stop you. But you need to send a notice through a notary. In other words, make your notice in writing so that you have a document in hand. It would be advantageous for you to do such a thing while you are inside the house 🙄
Now I've learned this; even if it's not written in the contract, there's something called 'reasonable notice.' That means you need to give notice 15-30 days in advance. I suggested that we talk it over and offer to pay one month's rent. Surprisingly, he accepted without getting too angry.
Situations like this are very stressful, I understand. Especially when the landlord suddenly says you can’t just leave... You feel like you’re falling into a void at that moment, thinking about what you should do. If it were me, I would sit down with a coffee in the morning and calmly write out what I want to say to the guy.
This is officially power abuse, just so you know. You have a legal right, and it will end with payment there. But the patriarchal system takes it upon itself to make the tenant feel like "you will submit in this situation." Don’t accept anything that is not consensual.
There seems to be another issue here. Maybe after you, they couldn't come to an agreement with someone else to rent the house, or they lowered the price on the market. That might be why they reacted this way. Look into it and see if there's anything being said about the house around.
