When leasing a property, the lease agreement is a vital document for both the tenant and the property manager. The lease stipulates the terms of the agreement, including rental rates. However, the tenant might want to vacate your premises at any time, necessitating the need for beneficial protocols by the property owner.
Many reasons would influence the termination of a lease agreement. Such reasons can be professional, personal, or breach of the contract by the property owner. Regardless of the reason, the landlord is expected to release the tenant if he follows the necessary protocols.
When a tenant sends you a lease termination letter, it will help if you took the responsibility to find another tenant (mitigate damages). There is no way you can charge a tenant based on the lease agreement when they vacate your house. While no property owner expects a tenant to vacate during the off-season, it is in his interest to find another tenant as soon as possible.
If the tenant wants to break the lease agreement, the property manager should go through the necessary procedures, like marketing to prospective tenants. The screening might be quite extensive as you have to find the appropriate tenant. Some state provisions make it mandatory for the lessee to meet their end of the agreement even when they intend to terminate it before the stipulated period.
Caution against allowing your lessee to find a tenant
Your lessee might be willing to help find a new tenant if you request them to do so. However, it would be best if you were cautious when doing this –make sure everything is formal. This implies that you should have the final decision on who you want to lease your property to.
Handling early lease termination
Instead of complicating the whole issue and tasking a lessee to find another tenant, it’s wise to include clauses that would cater for early lease termination scenarios. If you don’t include these clauses in the agreement, it is your responsibility to cover the losses you might incur when your tenant vacates earlier than he should have. Your lawyer should help you write a lease early termination agreement that will benefit the tenant and the landlord.
Most lease termination agreements should include a termination-fee clause. Another option is to collect rent from the lessee until you find another tenant. This way, when the tenant wants to break their lease agreement, you have rental compensation worth two months.