Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have been dragged into a situation which I have never deal before. I decided renting my house to a couple with 4 kids and we signed the lease in last week. Later, I got a confirmed information which the couple has been separated and the husband has lived in rented apartment currently, but they didn’t told me beforehand and their credit scores looks very good. The lease has been signed by the couple together and security deposit has been collected (but they will move into in next month). I have few questions and hope people in this group could have some advices. Please little ‘r’ me if you have to deal with this kind of situation before. 1) Can I terminate the lease now? 2) Is there any protection such an addendum I can do to make sure the rent can be paid on time? The family income are mostly from the husband. 3) When they divorce, can I renegotiate the lease even the current lease is not expired?

You cannot terminate the lease if there has not been breach in contract. If everything panned out in the background check then hopefully the year will go smoothly. You can add an addendum that says in the case of divorce, or if a payment is missed...the contract is breached and can be terminated. And if there is a divorce then you will need to add terms that say the lease will need to be renegotiated or terminated. Always in this case talk to a lawyer to see what your rights are and how to properly word your addendum.

Posted by David C, PA on Monday, July 28, 2014