February 2020

What should you do when your tenant wants to break the lease early? They signed a document that binds them to legal terms such as paying rent through the move-out that you specified. However, there are laws that also protect the tenants when they want to get out of a lease agreement. It’s important, as a landlord, to know how to handle situations like these and to communicate clearly, while adhering to legal protocol and meeting your bottom line.

Why Do Tenants Break Their Lease Early?

Tenants often terminate their lease early due to different reasons. Knowing why your tenant wants to terminate his or her lease early will help you know how to approach the situation without getting into trouble.

Highlighted below are some of these reasons:

• Military Deployment

Servicemembers Civil Relief Act gives room for those in armed forces, the National Oceanic and atmospheric Administration, National Guard, and the United States Public Health Service to terminate their leases. The tenant must, however, give you a 30-day notice; this will be effective 30 days after the date that next rent payment is due.

• Domestic Violence

In states like Washington and Nevada, survivors of domestic assault are allowed by landlord-tenant laws to terminate a lease and move if the need arises.

If this is the reason why your tenant wants to terminate his or her lease, you can consult your state laws to understand what your obligations are. Don’t try to force your tenant to remain in a dangerous situation.

• Job Loss

If your tenant can no longer pay for the rent due to job loss, then there’s no need for him or her to remain in your property. Allowing them to terminate the lease is better than pursuing an eviction or bringing in a debt collector.

• Divorce

Divorce, just like job loss, can have a great impact on the finances of your renters. Although you’re not obligated to release your tenants from a lease in this challenging situation, allowing your tenant(s) to terminate their lease will make the situation easier for everyone.

• Poor Living Condition

You need provide a safe and conducive place for your tenants to live. What this implies is that you need to provide working gas, electric, heating, plumbing systems; functional sins, showers, toilets; roofs and walls in excellent conditions; freedom from pests and health-impeding conditions amongst others. If the rental unit is not conducive enough, your tenants can break the lease without holding them responsible for damages for loss of rent.

• Lack of Privacy

Although you’re the owner of the property, you have no right to enter it as you please. You need to notify your tenants at least 24 hours before you enter their premises except when there’s a case of emergency. Your tenants can terminate their lease when you violate their right to privacy.

However, your tenants need to first notify you via a formal written warning telling you to stop entering their apartment unannounced.

What Should Be Included in an Early Termination of Lease Clause with an Early Termination Fee?

You need to work with your lawyer so that you can come up with a solid early termination of lease clause. Listed below are some points that you can address:

• Minimum notice that is required for a tenant to ask for an early termination of lease
• Cost of the early termination fee
• The lease will be officially considered as being terminated when the landlord receives the signed notice and early termination fee
• Tenant(s) will have to pay rents for prior months as well as charges owed before vacating the property.
• The attempted early termination will be nullified and every other aspect of the lease will remain valid if the tenant fails to adhere to the process and requirements.

As a landlord, you should be prepared for your tenant(s) to present false reasons citing lack of comfort or lack of privacy if they don’t want to pay you. To save yourself from this situation, keep records and photographs of maintenance to show that you maintained and repaired the property.