Tenant wants to break lease | doesn’t want to pay

[Marija Petrovic]

Hello! I have a tenant that wants to move out, and refusing to pay rent. I need an attorney to handle this. Due to plumbing issues he claims that property is “inhabitable” and says he will leave without paying. I offered him 1 month free rent until we fix the issue, he refused and says he will return keys when he gets his deposit back. What do I do?

[Nathan Grabau]

This seems to be close to a best case scenario in a situation like this, assuming the property hasn't been destroyed by him. Having to evict him for non payment, especially depending on the plumbing issue, will get very messy very fast. If there is actually a habitability issue, he could sue you too. Let him leave, fix the issue, and get a new tenant in there.