Should I Allow Tenants To Break Their Lease?
Hi All,
I have a couple of tenants in an out-of –state rental that I have been having troubles with. There are two tenants on the lease but the lease holds them responsible jointly and severally. One of the tenants has been very forthcoming and tries hard to stay in touch and meet his obligations. The other Tenant is the exact opposite. Does not return my calls and has caused property damage (holes in the wall and door) to his part of the property.
The tenants currently owe me half rent for July (bounced check from the uncooperative tenant) along with late fees and returned check fees and the August rent is now due. I received a call from the cooperative tenant with a request to break the lease without being responsible for the full term as stated in the lease agreement. They still have 8 months to go on this current lease.
I am seriously considering agreeing to let them out of the lease if they agree to the following:
1) Relinquish their security deposit as damages for breaking the lease
2) Pay all back rent, late charges and late fees.
3) Pay all current rent up till the day they vacate the property
4) Make all repairs to the property (or agree to reimburse me the cost for such repairs) necessary to bring the property back to move-in condition.
5) Both Tenants must vacate the property on the same day
I don’t know if I can do this. I have gone over the Landlord-Tenant act for the state and don’t see any laws that say I can not do this. Is it advisable? If I had to evict them it would be over $550 out of my pocket and I am worried they may be angry enough to cause some serious property damage if I tried eviction. At this point, I would rather have them out and try to locate better, more responsible tenants.
Any thoughts, ideas or advice would be highly appreciated. Please share your experiences with me as that might help me make the proper decision.
Thanks,
JS.
It seems your options are eviction or let them move out at there own request. You want them gone, and they want out - it is a win/win.
If you can't work something out to get rid of the "Bad" tenant, it's looking like you don't have much choice in the matter. You can either let'em go easy, or hard, that's your options.