Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Tenant signed lease paid security...May 6..moved stuff in ...sent me an email On May 8 she had moved out..(alot of personal things going on)...stated she was "revoking my rights to the home"...what the heck does that mean...I told her she would be responsible for rent until we signed a new tenant (is that legal? we are in California)...

Yes the tenant must pay rent until you find new tenants or the lease term is up, whichever comes first. This means you should be searching and trying to limit the time they are responsible. Some landlords will terminate for a fee (i've done this once and used the amount of rent for one month as the fee)

Posted by J D, CA on Friday, May 12, 2017

My tenant needs to break her lease 5 months early because she is moving out of state. Upon reading the above response, would I handle this issue the same as you stated to Robert. Is her deposit forfeited? I'm okay with charging her a fee to move out early, however she is leaving in the worst time for rentals/sales in Arizona, the SUMMER months! I'm in AZ Thank you, Penny

Posted by Penny W, AZ on Thursday, June 8, 2017

I have a clause stating they will pay 1.5 months rent for breaking an early lease if not part of the excused reasons in TX for breaking a lease. If I find a tenant before that, I'm will only assess the fee to cover any loss in rent. So if I find a tenant in two weeks, I will refund one month & keep the two week rent I collected. Everyone needs to define move out clauses bc we can't just leave a house we bought bc times are rough. There are proper measures to be taking.

Posted by Lisette A, TX on Monday, July 3, 2017