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If you are having an on-going issue for more than a year and your landlord sends a text stating
If you want to break the lease, you can forfeit your deposit and move out by the end of the month
is it binding?
Would it still be binding if you chose to break the lease and move out the following month when the same problem persists?
This sounds like a settlement offer. At a minimum it would have to be accepted by the tenant before it was binding. Until it is accepted it could be withdrawn at any time.
Would it still be binding if you chose to break the lease and move out the following month when the same problem persists?
At first glance it seems a bit stretched, but only you know the full contents of the landlord's message.
The key issue is whether "end of the month" in that message can reasonably be interpreted as "end of the month in which you intend to move out". If so, the doctrine of contra proferentem would apply and favor your position, since you are not the draftsman of the condition that you and the landlord agreed upon (provided that you expressed your agreement).
Obviously the most straight-forward, most certain option is to inquire of the landlord about the validity of this condition in the following month. There are at least two arguments to support your intent: (1) Moving out by the end of the following month results in the breaking of the lease being less premature; and (2) the landlord would have longer time (namely, one additional month) to find a new tenant.
