While more and more people rent apartments from established management companies that have time tested, lawyer-approved leases for people to sign, there is still a large number of people renting from individuals that try, and often fail, to write up their own leases that they expect you to sign and follow. We often put our ‘John Hancock’ on these leases because we are running out of time to find a place before our current lease expires, or we assume that our landlord-to-be is a nice person and we won’t have any problems. All too often, however, we run into issues, so here is what we can do to solve them.

First, bring a copy of your lease to a local renter’s rights group and have an expert there look it over. These groups often consult people for free and while the volunteers there may not have a law degree, they do have extensive experience and they can often point you in the right direction.

If you can find a lawyer in your area that offers free consultations, you can also go to see a lawyer. They will be able to tell you how legally binding this lease is and what you have to do to get out of it. Often times, even an inexperienced lawyer will be able to tell you how you can get out of a hand-written lease with little to no trouble, but it might end up costing you a pretty penny.