Early termination fee

[Mike Russo]

Hi,

I read a post here that states every lease should have an early termination clause with a fee. What do you suggest as the terms and the fee?
Thanks very much in advance.

Mike

[Marcia Maynard]

@Gail K. If a tenant takes off, breaks their lease, moves out and is no longer in residence, it does not make sense to file for eviction. That would be abandonment in our jurisdiction and require a completely different course of action and would return our property to us sooner. We try to avoid lawsuits. They are not a productive way to use our resources or the court resources. Revenge leads to bad karma. Inflicting harm on others is unnecessary, especially in such a simple situation as this.

Better to have procedures in place that will help you easily transition from one tenant to another in the event that someone needs to break a lease. Clear communication with the tenant from the beginning and a sufficient security deposit to cover your real losses is a better approach.