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Updated over 9 years ago,
I might need to encourage a lease "break".
I have a lease with a tenant that is on the fifth month of a 1 year lease and I am seriously thinking of parting ways.
Tenant "Jane" does pay on time, and has not violated any lease terms.
But a series of issues that has caused the tenant landlord relationship to be tensed and my best bet is a down hill from here.
First of all, and partially my fault, I allowed her to bring a dog. I was told it was an old mild dog and lays in the sun all day long, which turned out he is a lot more aggressive then I thought, and one time I had a pest control company to come service the building, and they had to go inside her unit to get into the attic, the dog basically attacked - IN HER PRESENCE - and resulted in the knee pads worn by the pest control tech was ripped off by his paws. She insisted he was just "playing" but I was there it was clear to me it was aggression but she didn't seem to have control of her dog.
Second, everything is an "emergency" to her. I usually respond very quickly on any complaint. One incident several months ago the central AC broke on a Sunday and my usual AC company is not opened on Sundays so we had to wait till Monday. She deemed it an emergency because it's 82 degrees out and he guitar may be warping and she demanded a 24/7 emergency repair. I refused to prefer to work with the company that has been servicing those units and who I have a relationship with. That evening I received numerous text messages, with a report of the temperature every hour. A stuck garbage disposer (which was caused by herself) was an emergency, a bit too much mosquitoes in the warm Florida summer is an emergency...you get the idea.
Third, her incessant whining affect other tenants. Some would roll their eyes when her name is mentioned.
There are many other incidents I can list, but you get the idea. I have no problem filling the units and thinking of reaching out to her to propose a lease termination. Now she hasn't violate the lease and we have an agreement till April 2016, but if she is not happy where she is and we are not on the same page, why not leave? Can I stay put till April? Sure...but I don't want a disgruntled tenant who can make the entire building "toxic". Besides, life is too short, I am even willing to give some financial incentive if she agrees to leave.
For the other landlords who have gone through the process of trying to break a lease that is still in effect, I would appreciate your sharing your experiences. Are there other ways to motivate the tenant to move on besides (or in addition to) cash for keys? Is there a "typical" cash 4 keys amount? I am thinking half to a month's rent. Does that sound fair?