You, Mr. Owner, are pleased to find qualified tenants for your rental home. The man and woman sign a one-year lease on Tuesday.
On Thursday, the male tenant contacts you and tells you that he has changed his mind because his girlfriend thinks she sees “dead people” in the bathroom.
He expects you to cancel the lease!
What are you doing, hiring an exorcist?
No, you smile and explain gently… “Listen Bub, that was a legal contract you signed. It binds us both to everything printed on those sheets of paper… the laws say so, that’s who!”
And that’s true… both parties must agree to break a legal contract… it can’t be done unilaterally (usually). In this case, the contract is the well-prepared solid gold lease.
Is your reluctant tenant in trouble for an entire year’s worth of monthly lease payments?
Brings a tear to the eyes of us hardcore landlords… but you probably aren’t obligated to pay rent for the entire year.
The courts have ruled that the landlord must make a good faith effort to find a new tenant for the unit as soon as possible.
As soon as one is found, the original crybaby is released from the contract.
The cost of rent for the new tenant can be deducted from the security deposit you collected from Mr. Crybaby. That includes advertising and a copy of The Grinch He Stole Christmas that you give him as a going away present.