Property Manager · Boise, ID · Member since 2021 · 119 posts · 48 votes
I am hoping one of you will have maybe encountered this situation and can offer advice:
Two guys on a lease. Guy 1 is breaking the lease to move across the country. Guy 2 wants to move in his best friend. Guy 1 is paying me a lease break fee to have his name legally removed from the lease. Guy 2's new roommate is having his mom cosign.
Should I just dissolve the original lease and write a new one?
Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
4y
Did you collect separate deposits from the 1st two guys?
Sounds like everyone is being polite and amenable right?
Two issues. Lease, there is no hard and fast rule unless your state has one. You can do an amendment or create a new lease. Assuming everyone is being friendly and you can do a walkthrough and the home is in the same condition meaning nothing to deduct from the exsisting deposit you can simply do as you suggested, refund the exsisting and collect new deposit and start over with a fresh lease. If your lease has changed since this tenant moved in always a great way to update the lease as well.
It gets tricky if the home need repair. Then you need everyone to still get along while you make deductions. Unless your lease specifically says they each have their own deposit then the deposit is for the unit and you have every right to hold on to it till the end. But, if everyone is being nice about it, I say give it back and start over but be sure to do a walkthrough because you don't want to hear in a year "guy 1 did that, you need to charge him".