Leaving early

[tiongbahru]

I'm an expat, have just signed up to a two-year lease. But after only three months, I have to leave Singapore.

Contract says I must pay all rent up until end of the first year. If I leave Singapore without advance warning to landlord, what are the legal consequences?

I may leave landlord with two month deposit + two months of rent as a gesture.

One of my concerns is that this will have consequences for my company in Singapore (though this is a personal lease) and for my ability to return to Singapore safely in the future.

I don't like doing this at all and I know I'm going to gets a lot of criticism here, but I simply can't pay up for all the remaining months and I'm concerned LL will do everything (confiscation of property etc) to make sure there is more payback.

Any ideas?

[UhOh]

Whats up with all these expat leaving notices? Don't you guys know Singapore is going to get tons of new housing soon? Oh wait a minute, there is this minor matter of a global economic melt down.....Hmmm....

[two points]

One, unless your co signed as guarantor the LL has no recourse to them.  They have nothing to do with it.

Second, on breach of contract the LL needs to minimise his losses (ie.e he can't sit on his backside and sue for the loss).  In practice what this means is he has to negotiate and needs to accept a fair offer (i.e. one that means he is not likely out of pocket, not one that means he wins a bunch by getting the whole lot and re-letting next week).  Your offer sounds reasonable but don't call it a gesture.  It is to recompense him for the additional cost of re-letting, decorating etc. and to cover his losses in the period it is empty.  Make it clear you will be leaving the country, at the moment all he has is your deposit, he should accept what you are proposing.

[a tenant]

most leases allow for assigning the lease to a third party.  I suggest you attempt to do that.  Either look for a new tenant yourself, or get an agent to look for you

It is the more honorable thing to do, rather than leaving your landlord in a lurch, and anyway might well cost you substantially less than the four months your are prepared to pay

If you find a tenant yourself (place an ad in the straits times, and maybe on notice*** outside your local cold storage/ntuc) your only cost would be difference in rent (if you need to entice a enw tenant by offering them a lower rent, you'll have to make up the difference to the landlord, and even then probably only to the 14 month point of the original lease, since at that point you could have exercised the dip clause anyway).  If an agent finds you a new tenant, then a month commission to the agent (plus again, making up any rental shortfall if any)

[winters]

Where's your diplomatic clause?  Did you get one in?

[Penalty]

IMHO such clauses amount to unjust enrichment and a penalty which are unenforceable at law.

What you could do as the other poster suggested is find a new tenant or agree to continue paying rental until the landlord finds a new tenant within a reasonable time. This is likely at a higher rent than under your lease and not difficult in the current market.

Do NOT deposit any more money with the Landlord. You'll never see it again.

I doubt it will affect your safe entry into singapore. Even if the landlord commences an action against you(unlikely), this is a civil dispute arising from the breaking a contract not a criminal offence.

[No assignations]

Am leaving Singapore shortly. Before giving two months notice under the Diplomatic Break clause, I lined up a potential assignee. Landlord happy on grounds of responsibility and respectability of proposed tenant but landlord/landlord's agent wanted more rent. (More than double the current rent negotiated back in Apr07). Potential assigness offered to go higher but well short of the agent's fantasy. Nevertheless, landlord refused and so I had to give notice. In my agreement, the landlord cannot unreasonably withhold consent to an assignment of the lease, with the criteria of R & R the only ones specifically mentioned.
So the landlord as always has the tenant by the balls. And the landlord's agent collects another round of commissions...