Enforcing Lease Assignment Agreement
Just purchased a property that came with Tenants( I know bad idea from what I'm reading) at the end of Aug 2014
Before Purchasing I had the seller's closing attorney draw up formal lease assignments, send over copies of the leases , and copies of the tenants application forms/credit/background checks.
One of the tenants was in violation on various issues ( breaking the subletting clause by re-renting their unit on Airbnb, keeping a pet without a pet application or deposit, etc etc) before the property sold- The Lease that the tenant signed also has a Sale of Property Clause that the Lessee agrees to vacate the property within 30 days in event of property sale. The property manager sent them a letter Notice to Vacate in 30 days due to lease violations on August 18th 2014 a week or so before the closing- which sets their move out date to the 17th of September 2014. The property management company only collected a $300.00 security deposit with rent set at $825.00 per month. The tenant has agreed to move out and has already found another place and is the process of moving their things out.
Now the question - What does the tenant owe me for September 2014 rent?
My opinion - A full months rent of $825.00 due by Sept 5th and a portion of the security deposit if there is any damage not repaired before they move out on Sept 17. They are clearly in violation of their lease and need to satisfy the lease balance which from what I can determine is one months rent since technically they are on a 30 day month to month agreement due to Sale of Property had there not been a lease violation.
The Tenants View - they want me to agree to only taking a portion of the rent based on 16 days of use which is $440.00 - and pay that amount by letting me keep the security deposit of 300.00 and leaving behind what they value at $140.00 some crummy door they hung up in one of the rooms with some blinds on it.
Just wanted to get an opinion on it before I respond to the tenant's offer and/or seek the help of a Tenant/Landlord attorney. One other note- the tenant doesn't appear to be a "credit bandit" and probably would worry about having negative credit reporting if they don't comply with the terms of their lease.
Thank you