Hello everyone,
I am originally from Toronto who moved to Montreal(so I am a bit lost with how complicated the lease seems), unfortunately I lost my job and most of my field jobs moved to Vancouver so its a better decision to move there for me.
Background - I moved to this unit in montreal mid Oct last year and my lease started from November to Oct this year. (I had to pay final month rent/deposit because there was some issue with getting references etc and I was in a hurry to move so I agreed to it)
I want to move out and leave this apartment in 3 months, I think I can stay till end of July and plan my move around then, I updated the situation to my landlord and notified him of everything but he says I need to give 3 months notice and there are penalties -
This is from him:
If you need to leave before the end of the lease, the usual options are:
- Lease assignment: You may find another qualified tenant to take over your lease, subject to our review and approval.
- Early lease cancellation by mutual agreement: This can be discussed, but please note that early cancellation usually involves compensation, which may be up to the equivalent of three months of rent, depending on the situation and the time needed to re-rent the unit.
So when I talked to him on phone, he said even if I leave on July, I will have penalties of 3 months which is basically till my current lease is - end of oct.
I would like help in knowing my options if I cannot find someone to take over, and is this usually how things are here or he is making that up. What's the point of giving a 3 month notice if I am still going to be penalized. That sounds a bit unfair that even with the notice he wants another 3 months rent - in my mind I am like I should be just petty and would rather just have this unit vacant till end then than paying for fine and leaving my landlord to profit over me.. I don't get it...