Can I cancel a lease if my mone-in date keeps getting postponed?

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Can I cancel a lease if my mone-in date keeps getting postponed?

I made a contract to lease an office 4 months ago. The orginal move in date was the first of last month. The owner offered to fix the interior, however, it took 2 months to get the permit and now the building is under construction. The owner told me that once he gets the permit it will take maximum 3 weeks to fix the place. He got the permit 3 weeks ago. He cannot deliver the office to us still. I am wondering if I could at this point to cancel the contract. I kept asking him the exact date he could deliver the soace to us but still keep changing the dates.

Asked on March 28, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

You can most likely terminate the lease without penalty if the move-in date keeps getting moved back. When one party to a contract--which is what a lease is; a contract--breaches it in a material, or important, way, that breach will generally permit the other party to terminate the agreement (justify its nonperformance of its obligations). From a tenant's point of view, the most critical term of a lease or tenancy is possession--being able to actually move into and use the space. Having possession continually delayed would constitute a material breach of the lease.


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