Breaking the Lease

I have a tenant who moved in May 9, 2005 for a year's lease. Tenant gave notice this morning that he is moving out because his wife and kids just left him and is suing for divorce, i.e. he will not be able to afford the rent. I know he is liable for the whole year's rent, but what are my rights and what should I do?

You are of course entitled to the balance remaining on the least until May 9 and would be well within your rights to sue for that amount if your tenant indeed does vacate. Neither of you can use the damage deposit (if there was any) for anything more any property damage as a result of those prior tenants again, after they have vacated the property. How much notice were you given, i.e. 30 days, next week, etc? Is his rent paid up to date? Are you willing to allow him to sublet for the remaining time left on the lease?

In a perfect world, you can request 30 days' notice and possibly the 2 of you can agree that if there are no damages, his deposit will help offset a months' worth of rent (any agreement of course should be in writing.) If at that time, you are still owed any outstanding rent, you can sue for the remaining balance or offer your tenant the option to sublet for the month or so remaining.

Good luck.

Added: It's a given that you find a new tenant as soon as the unit is available, not only for the very good reasons stated below, but simply a matter of economics. Am I correct in assuming that's your intention once you resolve this?

Well, after your tenant vacates and breaches the lease, you'll need to make a good faith attempt to mitigate your damages by trying to find a new tenant to rent the unit.

You can then sue for breach of lease, and attempt to secure a judgment against the tenant for the remaining portion of the lease in which the unit was not being rented (see above).

If you do not attempt to mitigate your damages, you will not be able to obtain a judgment (or at least not for the entire period remaining on the lease).

Was the May 2005 date a typo? Obviously, a year's lease would have ended in May 2006 (several months ago).

Also, be sure to check your state and local laws.

Agree with jdmba...


You cannot just sue for all the months left on the lease. You need to make reasonable attempts to find a new renter.

If you find a new renter who is paying the same amount of rent in say a month then your old tenant is only liable for the one month plus any costs associated with finding the new tenant (newspaper ads etc).

Keep his deposit & last month's rent, I hope you have this but if you have not better do this next time. Just get a form called residential lease agreement for your new tenant. Get to work finding a new tenant ASAP, and sue for any rent money you lose by having it vacant that isn't covered by his deposit. Remember, the bank does not accept excuses for nonpayment/breach of contract (no matter how sad or creative) and neither should you. You are running a business, not a charity! If you need the forms for this. There is a site which contains all type of forms. I think it’s ezlandlordforms.com
Hope this helps.