Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have a tenant breaking a 1 year lease after only 2 1/2 months on a house I own, but now rent out. I was paid first & last month, along with July & Aug rent, along with a security deposit. Couple has been married a year. Wife signed the lease, husband did not. He left her 2 weeks ago (2 months into the lease term), & she has had no contact w him. Questions pertaining to Nevada law: 1st - since husband did not sign lease, is he still liable for anything, or is it all her responsibility? Do I need to contact him, or should she be my only contact? 2nd - can I keep the security deposit due to breaking the lease? 3rd - can I attempt to collect more rent on this until I rent it to a new tenant, or, can I make some sort of financial agreement with wife. 4th - if furniture is left behind, say it's the husbands, what do I do with it? 5th - since I now live out of state, should I just hire a Property Mgmt company to handle everything with the next tenant??

Jennifer, 1. Not on lease = not responsible 2. You generally cannot keep a SD as penalty for breaking the lease- you have to try to get someone in there asap; If you do get someone in right away, she gets her SD back minus any expenses you can justify 3. Don't understand your question? If you're asking can you charge the wife more money- the answer is no unless she's on a month-to-month; only then can you charge more but w/ appropriate notice of a rent increase, otherwise, you can't change the terms of her lease during the middle of it 4. She's responsible for the apt regardless to who's furniture it is- her name is on the lease. 5. Yes- hire someone in the state to manage for you and all of your questions will be answered and taken care of.

Posted by Claire S, CA on Wednesday, September 11, 2013