Problem tenants are offering to break lease early

[Cathy S.]

Seeking advice! I have an interesting situation. Current problem tenants who I inherited and have not paid 9 months rent due to Covid are trying to break their lease 1 month early! I did get all their owed rent from the city of San Diego though.

I’m currently doing garage construction and the noise has been getting to them and they have said that they will vacate by end of month (dream come true) if I don’t charge them for the month of April. Their lease actually ends on April 30. Literally a few weeks ago they said they wanted a lease renewal to “save up money for a house” but I said no I’m not renewing due to renovations.

I want them out asap so it’s a miracle that they are trying to leave on their own. Now the question is do I still try to get them to pay for the month of April? On one hand yes that is the legal agreement that is the lease. On the other hand the sooner they get out of my property the better so I’m willing to forgo that one month’s rent, renovate it and rent it to better tenants