What to Do When Your Tenant Wants to Break Their Lease | Manhattan Beach Property Management

A lease is a legal and binding contract, and when you sign a lease with a tenant, you expect that tenant to fulfill the term of the tenancy. However, things happen. Tenants get divorced, lose their jobs, get married, and decide to buy homes or move out of state. When your tenant wants to break a lease, there are things you can do to ensure you and your rental income are protected.

Review Your Lease

Your rental agreement needs to reflect the process of breaking the lease. This will ensure your tenant knows what to expect, and you can hold the tenant accountable to fees and costs associated with breaking the lease. Under most rental agreements, the tenant will be responsible for paying the rent until a new tenant is placed. The landlord will be responsible for mitigating those costs by getting a new tenant placed as quickly as possible.

Review the lease yourself, and provide the tenant with a copy of the applicable section of your lease when you receive their notice that they’ll need to break the lease. Answer any questions and make sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of what will happen when a lease is broken.

Begin Marketing Your Property Immediately

You’ll want to get a new tenant in place as soon as possible because it will limit your turnover and vacancy expenses. It will also help your current tenant, so that tenant should be willing to work with you on making the property available for showings. Discuss your expectations with the tenant who is currently in place. Take a look at the property so you can be sure it’s clean and in good shape. Take some pictures and get your listing online as soon as possible.

Your tenant won’t want to continue paying rent after moving out of the property, so it’s likely that resident will be willing to vacate the home when you need to show it. Give your tenant as much notice as possible and make sure any pets are crated or taken out of the home during showings.

Work with your Tenant for a Quick Turnover

Tenants who need to break their lease will expect that there may be fees and other consequences involved. However, it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant experience for either party. Work together to ensure the home is left in excellent condition. Find out when the tenant plans to be moved out, and begin scheduling the necessary cleaners and vendors so you can have it ready for the next tenant right away.

You want to avoid having your tenant break the lease and leave in the middle of a tenancy without any notice at all. Keep in contact with your tenant, and make it easy for them to communicate with you. Good tenants will feel bad about having to break the lease, and they’ll want to help you find and place a new tenant quickly.

If you have any questions about leasing your Manhattan Beach property, please contact us at South Bay Property Management Pros, and we’d be happy to tell you more.