One Roommate Wants to Terminate Lease - Other Wants to Stay (WI)

[Jacob Beran]

Hello BP community,

I have two tenants occupying a unit who are both "jointly and severally liable" for the full 12-month lease. One of the roommates wants to end their part of the lease due to personal reasons unrelated to the unit or roommate.

So far, I reached out to the tenant who wishes to leave, informed them of the verbiage of the lease, and directed them to find a qualified, background-checked, replacement roommate (unless the other roommate would like to end the lease as well).

1. Am I required to mitigate damages as a landlord and assist them in marketing for a replacement tenant? (posting on Zillow, etc.)

2. Any other suggestions / call-outs for dealing with a situation like this?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Greg Weik]

Hi @Jacob Beran, this is an all-too-common situation with roommates.  

Unless there is a legal situation afoot, such as domestic violence, or a situation such as military with PCS orders, the short answer is you're not required to change or terminate the contract.  I just want to set the table with that as a starting point. 

The entire point of a contract is that the parties agree to uphold the 4-corners of it, even if their personal circumstances change.  This is why we have contracts, so someone's personal situation is not grounds to re-visit the terms and/or alter them. 

If you choose to consider (not allow outright) a roommate change, I would suggest charging a not-insubstantial fee.  We charge $200, and require very specific documents to be completed. 

Some food for thought:  

-the new roommate is signing onto the original lease, and that means the original condition of the property.  What if the departing roommate caused or contributed to damage that is currently present in the property?  This is exactly the kind of legal "in the weeds" stuff that can come up with roommate replacements. 

-who paid the security deposit?  Is your lease clear on how security deposit disposition is handled? 

In short, to successfully change out roommates, you need the following:

-a solid release, that everyone agrees to. We call this a TVA or Tenant Vacating Agreement.  The vacating tenant releases all right to the property, any items left behind, and releases all right to the security deposit. All tenants sign.

-you need to change the locks or digital door code.  Liability. 

-you need a TAA or Tenant Addition Addendum, that the new tenant and current tenant sign.  This has to have language about what the new T is signing onto and agreeing to. 

-I suggest having the new T also sign your original lease. 

Alternatively, just say not to the T who wants to leave.  Tell them they are on the lease until it ends and you intend to hold them liable for the contract they signed. Depending on the situation, you can float lease termination to the remaining tenant and simply try again with new tenants if the remaining tenant agrees to it. 

Hope this helps.  A good PMC will have processes in place to deal with this kind of scenario.