It is actually a common practice, if you want to terminate the lease, to stop paying and get evicted. However, they may still be liable to pay for the three or four months they used.
It becomes a game where the landlord is weighing the costs of an eviction and the time that will take and getting a judgement for the unpaid rent and legal costs, and the likelihood of actually collecting on that, vs a negotiated settlement that lets them get the property back on the market as soon as possible and with the lowest costs.
This is why that strategy does not make sense to me. I don’t refute it _is_ a strategy that would undoubtedly work.
But if you’re on the hook for the full amount either way, why not just leave early and hand over the key? There’s less that could go wrong that you’d be responsible for, the space isn’t just sitting unused, and the owner has an opportunity to market it earlier.
Everyone walks away better for it. Plus you don’t have the negativity and expense of a lawsuit or an eviction or whatever else.
I know absolutely nothing about these agreements, but the idea seems at least plausible. An unoccupied building doesn’t get problems noticed or fixed, and could result in squatting.
I hope not. When I was forced to leave my place, I couldn't even manage to pay the electricity bill. It'd simply be impossible for me to afford such a hefty sum + compound interest + late penalty fees, if the Landlord pursued me in a manner that led to my future wages being garnished to cover all that.
I resided there for four years and consistently paid on time, but by the fifth year, I simply couldn't meet all the financial obligations. I sincerely wish the Justice system would show more leniency instead of demanding that I repay the entire lease upon eviction.
I think there was a grocery store in the Cupertino Vallco some years before it was torn down. They were dark with a small table out front selling apples on the honor system. As I understand they had some lease provision that they would be open to drive customer visits to the mall.
most leases say your responsible for the remainder of the lease unless they're able to rent it out again, at least for residential, (though I'm not sure how eviction effects that).
Very, very, very few commercial leases have such a clause and local tenant laws generally do not apply to commercial leases.
If you're lucky, you can negotiate an "out" clause, where, given sufficient notice, you can terminate the lease early, but commercial landlords are very hesitant to do it.
There's a reason Start-ups love month-to-month co-working spaces.
I remember Hudson's Bay having to keep paying the rent on their expensive long term leases when they exited the Netherlands.
Dumbass company was so sure their operation would be a success.
Reneging on a written contract doesn't seem to have the same social stigma in America.