If you currently have a lease, the thought of breaking it might be a little scary. Unfortunately, circumstances like health and finances may call for your to break your lease. A lease is a contract you have signed, and it comes with legal implications. Breaking a lease comes with its own set of circumstances. This guide will help you with the decision to break your lease, which is a significant legal concern.

Read Your Lease

The first thing you must do when you want to find a legal loophole is to read your lease thoroughly, or have your attorney review it. Your lease could have a loophole that allows you to break the contract if circumstances outside your control are involved. For example, your lease may determine that your military service or health concerns could allow you to move quickly.

Consider Other Options

If you must break your lease because of extenuating circumstances, such as your job transferring, you may be able to break your lease with very few repercussions. For example, your employer may cover the cost of you moving into a new home. You may need to obtain approval from your job to break your lease and have the associated costs covered.

In some cases, your landlord may be open to you subletting your home or apartment until you are either able to move back in or you find a permanent resident to live in your home. You may then be released from your obligation and your contract.

Consider the Role of Your Landlord

Sometimes, the landlord might not carry out his or her side of the contract, and the result may be cause to break your lease. For example, you may have complained to the landlord about cockroaches or a leak, and the requests for service have not been fulfilled. You may even have provided your landlord with proof of the issues he or she needs to deal with, but nothing has been done.

Of course, not every slight by your landlord means you can break your lease. You are wise to have your real estate attorney examine your lease to ensure you are not doing anything that could come back to bite you in the future.

Don't Just Move Out

One of the worst things you can do when you want to break a lease is to simply move out of your home without saying anything to your landlord. You may have a lot of issues, including a civil lawsuit and a mark on your credit if you don't break your lease properly. The best thing to do is to speak with a real estate law attorney before making a decision.