Need to know how to handle a tenant moving in/out mid-lease

[Hugh Jameson]

I have two tenants for a condo.

each paid half deposit/1st month etc..

1 tenant personal situation has changed and he is considering leaving mid-lease.

the remaining tenant has a partner who is willing to move in as a replacement so to speak. 

does this constitute a break of the original lease and a new 12 month with the partner re-instated?

does the tenant moving out pay a pro-rated amount of the lease remaining to break it etc...? 

some guidance here would be super helpful 

TIA

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Hugh Jameson:

Welcome to the BiggerPockets forums!

It's important to maintain control of the situation. Tenants room together, then inevitably want to go their separate ways. To protect yourself from this devolving into chaos, develop processes to maintain control of the situation.

I have forms and processes for adding or removing a tenant. When one tenant wants to leave, I want a very clear day/time of their departure. I want to be very clear that the deposit doesn't move, so anything owed to the departing tenant is between the tenants and the deposit I hold stays with the lease/remaining tenant. When I add a tenant, they still have to apply and be approved first, then I add them to the lease. Any time I am changing the lease, there is a charge (currently $50, going up to $100 this month). That would be $50 to remove a tenant and another $50 to add a Tenant.

One other thing in my policy: at least one of the original Tenants must remain in place for the full term of the lease and I'll only allow a roommate swap once per lease. I don't want the rental to become a revolving door of roommates coming and going because that never ends well. 

Connect with me and send me a request. I'll share my forms with you.