Breaking an illegitimate sublease contract

[tlgreg86]

Boulder, Colorado

I moved to Boulder, CO in May and subleased an apartment from what seemed like a legitimate party. They gave me a legal subleasing contract to sign. Its now the end of June and I'm finding out that the individuals didn't consult with the landlord about the sublease. They didn't get their permission to do so and the original master lease says it is not allowed. I brought my dog because the sublease said I was allowed one dog. One of the other residents of the apartment already had a dog as well. The master lease said only one dog is allowed on the property and on the lease. So that raised an issue because the party subleasing the apartment was aware of this.

My problem is I just broke the lease and got a new apartment. The subleasing party agreed to pro rate my rent and allow me to break the lease due to the inconsistencies and problems in their lease. Now they are refusing to give me that pro rated rent money. My questions are am I within my rights to break this lease since it wasn't legal to start and would it be worth the time to take the subleasing party to court to get that money back?

[sandyclaus]

Re: Breaking an illegitimate sublease contract

Boulder, Colorado

I moved to Boulder, CO in May and subleased an apartment from what seemed like a legitimate party. They gave me a legal subleasing contract to sign. Its now the end of June and I'm finding out that the individuals didn't consult with the landlord about the sublease. They didn't get their permission to do so and the original master lease says it is not allowed. I brought my dog because the sublease said I was allowed one dog. One of the other residents of the apartment already had a dog as well. The master lease said only one dog is allowed on the property and on the lease. So that raised an issue because the party subleasing the apartment was aware of this.

My problem is I just broke the lease and got a new apartment. The subleasing party agreed to pro rate my rent and allow me to break the lease due to the inconsistencies and problems in their lease. Now they are refusing to give me that pro rated rent money. My questions are am I within my rights to break this lease since it wasn't legal to start and would it be worth the time to take the subleasing party to court to get that money back?

Nope.

The issuance of a sublease in opposition to a clause in a master lease that prohibits it doesn't necessarily mean it's illegal - it just means that the master LL can pursue his tenant for a violation of that lease provision.

You should have verified that the LL was authorized to enter into a sublease prior to entering into such an agreement with them. Apparently that didn't matter until a problem arose.

[tlgreg86]

Re: Breaking an illegitimate sublease contract

I had just taken a short fuse job in boulder so I had to find a place quickly. It was all so quick that I didn't think to ask for the master lease. In this case do I have any leverage against the subleasing party if this goes to court?

[sandyclaus]

Re: Breaking an illegitimate sublease contract

I had just taken a short fuse job in boulder so I had to find a place quickly. It was all so quick that I didn't think to ask for the master lease. In this case do I have any leverage against the subleasing party if this goes to court?

Probably not.

You broke the lease. In Colorado, a LL doesn't have a duty to mitigate by actively seeking a replacement tenant, so if you end up in court, they could even countersue you to recover the balance on the lease you broke. Consider yourself lucky that all you're out is the pro-rated rent and call it a day.