A Reddit user recently shared their predicament after returning to India following an unsuccessful H-1B transfer. The user explained that they were facing difficulty in breaking their lease in Chicago, as the new management had removed the 60-day lease buyout policy.
Lease Break Challenges
Attempts to negotiate a mutual agreement with the landlord, including citing local ordinance laws, reportedly failed. The user added, “All is falling on deaf ears and they’re asking me to pay the entire rent.”
The post sparked a discussion among users, many of whom shared their experiences and strategies for handling lease obligations when leaving the US permanently.
Advice from the Reddit Community
One user advised, “Just leave without paying any penny. Even if they pursue you (which your landlord won’t since it is going to be expensive for him) they won’t be able to touch you.” Another added, “Don’t pay a single penny and leave. What are they gonna do? Take a hit at your credit score which is only valid in a country that you’re never gonna come back?”
A more detailed perspective was offered by a third user: “If you break the lease, the owners hand the case over to debt collectors who start the recovery process. They try to contact you with all possible means and try to recover the money using all techniques such as threatening you with a case to negotiating a payment plan. If you still do not pay, they will hurt your credit report and also can go into a small claims court. Now if you are never going to return back, I don’t think they have means to get to your home country for recovery as it may not be cost effective. But if you have plans to come back to the US in the future, having a black mark in your credit history or a judgement against you in small claims court will go against you.”
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