Tenant does not want to pay Early Termination Fee?

[Aalok Trivedi]

Hello All - I am the Landlord of the Property.

I have a situation in Indianapolis, where the lease clearly states an Early Termination Fee and the Tenant seems to be making things up to not having to pay this.  Sounds like per Indiana Law, Security Deposit can not be deducted from Termination Fee.  

Any suggestions if you have experienced this before, on how can I have this settled?  I would look at the house at move out fairly and assess Security Deposit there, and return all dues back if no issues found.  But I also want to make sure I get Early Termination Fee back, since I will have some vacancy period, and will have to do all Tenant search all over again.

Appreciate any feedback on this!

[Thomas S.]

If they refuse to pay you will need to follow the procedure as outlined by your state codes. There will be a defined process for collecting money owed from tenants. You will need to serve the tenant with appropriate notice and take them to court.

This is standards operating procedure when enforcing lease language. If you do not intend to inforce the lease you should remove the clause from your next tenants lease.