QUESTION
Can I ask my landlord to keep my security deposit to cover my lease breaking fee?
Asked on Mar 12th, 2013 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Colorado
More details to this question:
I signed a year lease and am breaking it due to my husband losing his job ¿ we simply can't afford to pay next months rent. We notified our landlord in advance that we'd be vacating the property on April 1st. The property will not be vacant as new tenants have signed a lease for April 1st. The lease states that we are required to pay a lease breaking fee equal to one month's rent ($1000) and they requested a check be deposited to a specific bank account before April 1st. Our landlord is also holding our $1000 security deposit, deposited to this same bank account. I asked if they could keep the deposit in place of the lease break fee (assuming it would be fully refunded) and they refused stating "The lease that you signed does not allow the security deposit to be substituted for another payment". The lease does not actually say anything about substituting funds. Should they be refusing to keep my money? If I do not pay the lease break fee, can't they keep the $1000 and break even?
1 ANSWER
3 Awards
You can ask you landlord to use the security deposit to cover the lease break fee. But, he is not required to accept you offer. This sounds like exactly what happened according to your facts.
The bottom line is that the landlord will be reluctant to use the damage deposit to cover the lease break fee because he then has no security for other damages. However, rest assured that if you move-out and have not paid the fee, once he makes charges against the damage deposit if any deposit remains he will then charge the deposit for the fee.
Answered on Mar 12th, 2013 at 3:08 PM
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