Inherited tennants they want to break their lease

[Peter Dascoulias II]

We inherited tenants who want to break their lease. I am trying to find out if they have the right to do so? We would have been happy to help them move on early, but they did not ask for that. They called us and said there were bats in the house. So we had an exterminator there within 3 hours who said there was no where for them to be and could not find viable proof that they would have ever been inside. In fact, the expert said the house was sealed up tight. We also contacted the previous owner who said she had never had that kind of problem. After paying the exterminator, the tenants tell us that they got accepted for base housing and want to break their lease. They were siting health issues, fear of the bats, etc. The problem is that they told us they saw a bat a week before and threw it out of the house, but never notified us at that time. I think their story smells. Since we did not sign them over to our lease, and the previous owner signed them, are the tenants still obligated to fulfill their end of the contract?

[Shelly Swanzy]

Peter,

Let them go -- they are trying to leave without causing you problems or legal fees. Personally I would not want to retain tenants who obviously do not want to be there--it's just asking for problems.