Early Termination Of Lease By Management Company

[Tyler]

My friend signed a year lease on 2/1/08.  According to the lease, 30 days notice was required to terminate the lease.  On 8/11/08, my friend received a Notice of Lease Violation and a Notice to Vacate for Non-Delinquency Breach of Lease.  The Notice to Vacate gave him until 8/31/08(less than the notice period required by the lease) to vacate the premises.  

The leasing company indicated that they had opted to terminate the lease because my friend had allegedly disturbed and threatened the rights of others, and had engaged in violence with other residents, in violation of his lease.  

The notice to vacate indicated that my friend would still be liable for rent and other charges he might owe under the lease.  

My friend vacated the apartment by 8/31/08.  

He recently received a call from a collections agent, indicating that the leasing company had asked them to collect the remainder of the rent due under the lease(5 month’s rent).  My friend complied with the notice to vacate and, despite the short notice and amount of time he had to leave, he was out of the apartment by the date they had asked him to be out.  The leasing company terminated the lease early, not my friend.   Must he now pay the rent for the remainder of the lease?  If not, how can he prevent the leasing company and the collection agent from damaging his credit?   

Thanks.

[Bellamie]

First, the 30-day notice to cancel provision in the lease doesn't apply to your situation, since the reason the tenancy was terminated was due to a breach of the lease agreement. Laws vary from state to state, but it is possible that he may still be liable for additional rents up to the point where the landlord is able to re-lease the unit. the reasoning is that the tenant breached the lease, and thus the landlord has been damaged as a result of those actions. I'm not a lawyer -- so you should definitely consult with a real estate attorney who is familiar with landlord-tenant laws in your state.