A tenant may need to break a lease because of relocation, changed financial circumstances or personal reasons. In some cases, the property owner may decide to sue the tenant in the New Hampshire courts to get compensation for financial losses resulting from the broken lease. A judgment in favor of the property owner may affect the tenant's credit score. Therefore, a tenant who needs to break a lease in New Hampshire should try to negotiate the terms of departure.
Lease Terms
The terms of a lease sets forth the rights of the tenant and property owner. For a month-to-month rental, the tenant may end the lease at any time, as long as she provides proper notice. For a fixed-term lease, however, New Hampshire law requires certain procedures, depending on which party breaks the lease terms. When the tenant breaks the lease, state law seeks to protect the rights of the property owner, unless the tenant can prove that the property owner also failed to meet significant obligations of the lease.
Early Termination
The consequences of breaking a fixed-term lease depend on the lease terms and the tenants relationship with the property owner. If the fixed-term lease gives the property owner certain rights when the tenant breaks the lease, such as rent payment until a new tenant moves in, the tenant's liability for rent may continue even after the tenant moves out. Although the property owner may have a responsibility to lessen his financial losses by making efforts to find another tenant, he may still be able to sue the tenant for unpaid or lost rent. Furthermore, if the tenant tells the property owner that she wishes to break the lease and ceases payment of rent, but continues to live on the property, the property owner may initiate eviction proceedings under Chapter 540 of the New Hampshire statutes. The New Hampshire Legal Aid organization suggests that the tenant avoids a lawsuit filed by the property owner in the New Hampshire courts, as a court judgment may affect the tenant's credit score.
Credit Report Information
According to the Federal Trade Commission, an individual's credit history includes information from civil lawsuits, which are a matter of public record. If a property owner sued a tenant upon early termination of a lease, a judgment issued by a New Hampshire court against the tenant may appear in the tenant's credit history. To affect a credit score, the lawsuit must result in a judgment against the tenant for unpaid rent or other money.
Effect on Credit Score
A judgment issued by a New Hampshire court will remain on the tenant's credit history for seven years after the filing date. Although credit bureaus will normally include descriptive information when preparing a tenant's credit report, its difficult to say how much the judgment will affect his overall score. You may need to review the specific provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or speak with a consumer-rights attorney in New Hampshire, if you're concerned about how a specific judgement against you will affect your credit.
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