Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hello, I'm in Michigan and recently leased out our house for 6 months. The tenant called a couple days ago that they're closing on a new house and need to be out by Oct, terminating the lease 3 months early. We went above and beyond to help deal with her requests such as a dishwasher and covering up the fence in the backyard so they don't see the neighbors yard and now they give us 2 weeks notice that they're leaving. What are our options at this point? Am I allowed to ask for an early termination fee even though it wasn't included in the lease? Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Technically they are to hold up the end of the deal. If they do not you may be entitled to the security deposit. You may want to create a mutual termination of lease contract so that both groups know exactly what their responsibilities are. If you want to charge a termination fee you may want this to be included in the termination agreement. I hope this helps, and working with the tenant will help insure that you do each get a fair closing to the lease.

Posted by Derrick D, PA on Wednesday, October 1, 2014