Early Termination - Recourse Actions

[Diana Smith]

I have a tenant in NV that gave 4 days notice and vacated 3 months early.  I do have an early termination fee clause -which he did not pay.  The place was left clean as we had a face to face as soon as he gave notice.    Since we had a specific discussion about early termination before he signed the lease, he was well aware I had other candidates lined up that would go full term.   So I'm a little annoyed.  Other than a lawsuit, what recourse do I have?  eg how do I affect his credit. My credit reporting agency does not offer that option to report delinquencies.

Thanks

Diana

[Jerry W.]

The basis of a lawsuit is generally 4 part.  Duty, breach, causation and damages.  You need all 4.  The duty is spelled out in the lease, breach is leaving early, causation is not paying rent.  The damages are the rent you were not paid that was owed.  If you are able to rent again with no loss your only damages may be the cost of advertising or possibly your time in showing it.  Why do you deserve rent from 2 people?  The idea is to make you whole, not make extra money.  The duty to mitigate damages is common in all states I would assume.