Whether you have a prior lease you still owe on that you cannot pay or you are behind on a current lease, bankruptcy may be able to help.
If you owe on a prior lease, you can discharge the debt in bankruptcy. Usually, a debt owed to a former landlord for a broken lease is just unsecured and dischargeable in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases. You will want to make sure your former landlord is listed in the case as a creditor and will receive notice of the filing.
If you are behind on current rent, you can file a Chapter 13 case to catch up on your rent through the Chapter 13 plan. If you went this route, you would pay post-filing rent on time and the pre-petition rental arrears through your plan payments. In your case, the trustee will disburse the costs to your landlord. If you are behind on rent, you can file a Chapter 7 case, but due to Chapter 7 cases not having a payment plan, there wouldn’t be a payment going to your landlord. You would have to catch up your rent directly.
If you are on a current lease and want to move or break it, you can reject the lease in Chapters 7 and 13. This would discharge your liability with the lease and notify your landlord that you are not assuming (continuing) the lease contract.
In both Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 cases, the petition includes a section for listing contracts and leases. This is where you will put your landlord's information (name and address) and whether you are rejecting or assuming your lease.
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