Tenant Trying to get out of Lease Early

[Stephen DeFalco]

Hello Fellow Landlords,

I have a tenant who had a one year lease ('23-'24) with us and was great. This past spring she re-signed for a 2 year lease with us (4/1/2024-3/31/2026). She informed us a few weeks ago that she got another job that is forcing her to move (still in Chicago-metro area) and she'd be moving out in September. In turn, that would be the last month she'd be paying rent. We explained to her she could find someone to sub-lease with our approval but one way or another she was on the hook for rental payments through the end of her lease and she seemed unaffected by potential legal action if a suitable sublease was not found.

Anyone have any advice on this situation?  

Thanks 

[Randall Alan]

Quote from @Stephen DeFalco:

Hello Fellow Landlords,

I have a tenant who had a one year lease ('23-'24) with us and was great. This past spring she re-signed for a 2 year lease with us (4/1/2024-3/31/2026). She informed us a few weeks ago that she got another job that is forcing her to move (still in Chicago-metro area) and she'd be moving out in September. In turn, that would be the last month she'd be paying rent. We explained to her she could find someone to sub-lease with our approval but one way or another she was on the hook for rental payments through the end of her lease and she seemed unaffected by potential legal action if a suitable sublease was not found.

Anyone have any advice on this situation?  

Thanks 

@Stephen DeFalco

We take a slightly different approach… We also advise them that they are on the hook for the lease, but instead of putting the burden on them to sublet it, we tell them that we will turn on our marketing and fill it as quickly as possible, and that as soon as we can get someone moved in, they would be off the hook (as it was). 

Typically given 30 days advance notice we can find a tenant and fill the unit within less than two weeks of the old tenant exiting. It’s usually a win-win for both sides.

Our goal is to not have any lost income due to them breaking their lease, and not so much penalize them for a change in their circumstances.   Personally we wouldn’t want the tenant trying to find a new person to fill the lease, as we think we have a better idea of who we want from screening applicants and we have a way to advertise for them. It’s very likely a tenant would have limited resources to be able to market the property.

hope it helps!

Randy