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Terminating a lease
I have a standard 9-year lease that I signed when I first moved to Belgium. The company I worked for has shut down and I have taken a job outside of Belgium that I am supposed to start ASAP. Since, under the terms of the lease, I have to give 3 months notice, this means my apartment will stand empty for 3 months (my lease has no diplomatic clause allowing me to get out sooner).
This raises quite a few questions for me. I plan to address them all with the landlord and the syndicat, but I want to be as informed as possible when I do so. Therefore, I would be interested in feedback here.
- If we move out and the landlord finds new tenants before the 3 months is up, is he entitled to collect rent from both me and the new tenants?
- Do I have an obligation to maintain electricity, gas, and water accounts during those 3 months, even if I am not living there?
- Suppose I move out, do the final inspection, turn in the keys, etc., all at the start of the 3 months, then something goes wrong inside the apartment while it is unattended -- water leaks from a radiator or something. Who is then responsible?
Ultimately I will talk to the landlord and see if he'll let me out on 30 days notice, but it's good to be informed in case that plan doesn't work out....