What to do about conflicting lease provisions regarding the termination date?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What to do about conflicting lease provisions regarding the termination date?
My lease agreement says 06/09/10 to 06/30/11. However, it also says that is 11 months and 22 days long, which would mean my lease would end on 06/01. Does this conflict in the lease paperwork provide me with a way to get out of my lease on 06/01 or 05/31? Or am I stuck in it until 06/30?
Asked on April 13, 2011 under Real Estate Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
There's no easy answer, since when there is an ambiguity, contradiction, or inconsistency in a contract--and that's what a lease is; a contract--and the two parties disagree about the answer (e.g. if they both happen to agree, there really isn't a problem), then if push comes to shove, the courts try to determine the original intent of the parties from when they signed the document. They will look to any other terms within the contract that may shed light on it; they'll also look at correspondence and emails between the parties which may indicate what they wanted to agree to, early drafts of the contract, etc. So you should look at these elements to see if there is any indicia of the correct date; if not, you could bring the contract and all surrounding documents, correspondence, etc. to an attorney to review in detail for you.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.