Q–My wife and I reside in a corporate-run apartment complex in the suburbs. We are finishing a short-term lease and need another short-term lease, because we have bought a new house, which will be ready for occupancy on about July 1.
The problem is that the management company has put a “block” on ending leases during June, July and August.
In addition, the form lease discourages subleasing and charges a significant penalty for doing so.
As a result, I see that I have two options. One option is renting the apartment for longer than I need to, in which event I wind up paying both rent and mortgage payments. The other option is moving out of the complex at the end of the current term, and having to find alternative housing for a few months.
This would involve new mailing addresses, new phones and the costs of a double move. Complicating matters is that my wife is pregnant and is due about one month before the house will be ready.
Do I have any recourse against the practice of blocking months, or do I have any other alternatives?
A–It is not illegal for the landlord to block months during which leases cannot terminate. In fact, it is fairly customary for landlords to try to time their lease expirations for legitimate business purposes.
Some landlords will end leases to coincide with traditional rental dates of May 1 and Oct. 1. Other landlords will try to spread out lease expirations evenly, so that they are not burdened with having to find new tenants for a substantial number of apartments at one time.
This also helps prevent a landlord from experiencing a severe cash-flow problem if a large number of apartments are vacant at one time.
Finally, other landlords refuse to allow leases to expire during the winter months, when it is harder to obtain new tenants.
For this reason, your management company is not only within its rights in blocking certain lease expiration dates, but is acting in accordance with practices in the industry.
You may, in fact, be faced with the unpleasant choice you describe. If you decide to take a longer lease, you will have to try to re-rent your apartment for the balance of the term while you move.
Your landlord may charge a re-rental fee, assuming your municipality doesn’t have a landlord-tenant ordinance prohibiting that fee. However, the fee must be commercially reasonable.
A court is unlikely to enforce a re-rental fee that is really a penalty provision. Thus, you might want to discuss a negotiated reduction in the re-rental fee with your landlord if this is the alternative you choose.
On the other hand, you can elect to move from the apartment and find interim housing. There are such apartments available, and certain complexes specialize in housing for people in transition.
You should calculate the costs that you will incur in making a double move, from your apartment to interim housing and to your new home. Then try to negotiate a short-term lease with the landlord based upon the rental rate you would otherwise pay, combined with the cost of the move.
For example, if you need the apartment for another three months, and you believe the double move will cost you an extra $1,000, you can offer the landlord the normal rental rate, plus up to $333 per month, and come out financially in the same place as you would be in the double move. Plus, you will not have the physical stress of having to make that second move.
The landlord might well be willing to take on the burden of renting one more apartment during the peak time in exchange for the premium you are willing to pay for the apartment. Plus, even if the landlord is unable to re-rent your apartment immediately, due to the volume of apartments on the market, your additional rent has insulated the landlord from a complete loss of revenue for that apartment.
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Robert A. Boron, a Chicago attorney who specializes in leasing matters, writes about landlord and tenant issues for the Tribune. Questions to him can be addressed to Rental Q&A, Real Estate section, Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611. He also can be reached by e-mail at rabltd@aol.com. Sorry, but he cannot make personal replies.
