Worried about lease violations as a renter? This article will cover common lease violations and what you can do as a renter if you violate your lease.
If you’ve ever had trouble with your landlord over a lease violation, you may wonder what to do next. Lease documents set up your landlord-tenant relationship for the duration of your time living at a rental property. As such, a lease violation can be an extremely stressful experience, especially if made by accident. However, every mistake is an opportunity to learn and grow, and a lease violation doesn’t always mean you’ll encounter major issues.
Lease violations can be resolved in a variety of ways, depending on your landlord and lease. Some lease violations are small, easily solvable problems that can be corrected with some effort, while others are larger, more significant issues requiring remediation. Learn about these lease violations and how they can impact you and your property.
Common Lease Violations
Some lease violations are intentional, but others are accidental. Sometimes renters forget their lease rules, while others assume certain actions are acceptable without realizing that their decisions constitute a lease violation. Common lease violations include:
- Unauthorized pets (sometimes including pet-sitting or fostering)
- Long-term guests or subletting
- Property alterations or damage
- Ignoring basic maintenance
- Late rent payments
- Noise complaints
These could all be considered lease violations, even if done unintentionally. Customizing your space in a way that violates your lease could result in lost security deposits or, in some cases, a landlord deciding not to renew your lease. Dog-sitting for your friend could land you in hot water with your landlord, and ignoring that minor leak in your faucet could escalate into expensive damage.
Learn more: Common Lease Violations in the Summer and How to Address Them
What to Do if You Violate Your Lease
Read Your Lease Agreement
If you think you broke a rule in your lease, make sure you reread the lease agreement before taking any further steps. In the best case, you may find that you have not made as severe an error as you worried, or that your choice of action wasn’t a rule violation at all. In some cases, you’ll find responses and solutions to these rule breaks, which can prepare you for the road ahead. When you understand the rule you’ve broken, you can establish the specific details to avoid breaking the rule in the future. Often, these lease violations are accidental, so knowing more about what you did and what will happen as a result can help you avoid making the same mistake again.
Inform Your Landlord
Informing your landlord of your rule break is much better than lying about or attempting to hide it. While you may be able to hide your mistake for a time, it will eventually get out, and finding out that you attempted to hide a lease violation will damage the trust between you and your landlord. It is best to outright tell your landlord or property manager, ideally in person or over the phone. When you create an honest, apologetic conversation with your landlord, you can calmly discuss the next steps.
Discuss Remediation
Not every rule has a strict consequence, so the remediation for these lease violations isn’t always set in stone. If you are honest, apologetic, and willing to work with your landlord, they may have less severe consequences than you expected, and many lease violations can be easily remedied. If the violation is small, such as property modifications that can be reverted without cost or a single late rent payment, resolving the issue can be easy and relatively painless.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, but it is still beneficial to calmly discuss the consequences of lease violations. Sometimes, the only solution to these problems is eviction, as some lease violations call for evictions as per your lease, but you can discuss solutions with your landlord to hopefully reduce the impact. If you have a positive relationship with the landlord, they may still be willing to work with you or provide a reference for another rental property.
Cure or Quit Notices
If you break your lease terms, a common consequence is a cure or quit notice. A cure or quit notice is typically the last warning you get before you are given an eviction notice. It is a response to a lease violation and calls for the tenant to resolve the lease violation within a set timeframe or face eviction. If you receive a cure or quit notice, do not ignore it. You absolutely must resolve the issue as soon as possible or prepare to leave the property, because doing neither will result in eviction.
Final Thoughts
Lease violations can be stressful, especially if done accidentally, but they aren’t the end of the world. Communicate with and apologize to your landlord, aim to resolve your disputes, and learn from your mistakes for the best outcome as a renter, and improve on your experience going forward.
