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Updated about 8 years ago on . Most recent reply
Renter leaving before end of lease
Most Popular Reply

I prefer tenants who tell me they can no longer afford the unit versus just waiting til I have to evict for non-payment. I just had this happen to me where they received a better job offer but need to leave early. They agreed to let me show unit without notice on certain days, with notice on others, and I agreed that as long as they did that, I would agree to release them from the lease. I'd much rather have the unit empty for a few weeks in June or July than be searching for a new tenant in Nov/Dec/Jan, anyway, so just keep going forward with your advertising, showing, etc., until you find an applicant. If you have diligently tried to rent unit but cannot find a replacement, then you can keep deposit for nonpayment of rent during vacancy until it is rented out again. So if 7 days vacant, keep 7 days' worth of rent and utilities. If you do find a willing applicant, make sure you have a release of lease signed by current tenant before entering into agreement with new one or you could create problems for yourself if he decides not to leave after all. I had them sign the release before showing the property to others.