The easiest thing to do here is just call the landlord while you can still give a 30 day notice. Explain the new job situation and simply ask him what he will accept from you that will satisfy him enough to allow you to break your lease. Some landlords would be fine with the 30 day notice. Others might want you to find a replacement renter before you leave. Still others might stick you to that lease. Just call and ask. But you're right; I would avoid trying to force him to let you out of it by using those ignored repairs as a pawn in this game... if you can at all keep from angering him, his reference on future rental applications could be your golden ticket to approval anywhere you want to rent.

For starters your friend is an idiot. Breaking a lease is a difficult thing. If you just leave and you have a good job, they will probably put the collection people on you. You never want to sign a lease that doesn't give you an out if your job moves you or you need to move for advancement. That can always be put in a lease and both ofyou simple initial it and that makes it so when you sign your lease. If you just leave, there can be all sorts of charges put on you and they can be substantial including accelerating all the rent due and charges for rerenting, etc. It can come to thousands of dollars so you need to read your lease carefully. YOu might just try talking to management and some places will let you go if you find someone to move into your apartment and that way the apartment loses nothing because you haven't kept your word. Don't expect landlords to lose money because you have changed your mind about staying there. There may be other things and who know....it could be in your lease about moving for your job. Skirt the idea that you are doing it for an advancement and more you are needed in Phoenix. I used to live there long ago. It was a great place but really hot.

Repairs are not leverage for breaking your lease. That is a separate issue. You cannot threaten landlord to get out of the lease. Do this the right way. You approach manager or landlord, ask what is needed to break the lease. You lose your security deposit and pay a break lease fee if you are lucky.

Your law student friend is wrong. Failure to make repairs does not automatically permit you to break the lease. You must take your landlord to court for a breach of the lease and the court will decide. In most cases the landlord will cure the breach before it gets to court. Your changing jobs is not a valid reason to break a lease. Generally if you leave before the end of your lease terms you are responsible for the rent until the unit can be rented. Google landlord/tenant laws in AZ and learn the law.

Explain your situation to the landlord and ask him to release you from the lease. Offer to pay him a fee for an early termination.

Not a very good law student you have consulted. None of those things allow you to break the lease.

Talk to LL, work it out.

The law student is flat out wrong. Nothing you listed is legal grounds to break your lease. If you leave he can charge you what ever lease break fee was stated in the lease.

You will have to follow the terms of your lease unless the landlord lets you off the hook.

I am currently living in Tucson Arizona and have 3 months left on my lease. I was just informed by my work that I was offered a promotion in Phoenix which will almost double the amount I make an hour. Now I haven't had any real big issues with my landlord (other then him letting me know that he needs in my place on a certain day Example: 07/03/2014 then not showing up and entering my apartment on 07/14/2014 and saying that the notice he gave about 07/03/2014 still covers him). And some other stuff like the shower not fully working and there being big openings under the front door that I have been asking to be fixed. Now I haven't talked to him yet about breaking the lease, but if I accept the job I need to be in phoenix full time in about a month. How would you recommend I go about doing this? I was informed by a law student that I can leave because of the reasons mentioned earlier and I have proof asking those items to be fixed multiple times in the last few months, but at the same time I don't want to come off as a bad tenant or be penalized. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you!