How would you want this to go-- Tenant needs out of lease

[M Marie M.]

Not my tenant but my sister in law who needs to leave her rental.

This was a bad idea from the start. My SIL thought that she could care for my MIL (her mom) and a dozen other things and figured she could do it in a house, in a neighborhood beyond her income, using MIL's retirement money. Well this experiment failed, MIL is now in the hospital, and MIL should not return to the house SIL is renting.

SIL already violated the lease by moving in a new boyfriend, who I'm 100% sure is not on the lease.

So I'm trying to advise the spousal unit (because I'm just an in-law) on how to handle this drama.

SIL is a little over halfway into her lease. Rent is some crazy amount near $5K (this is a 3bdrm A class nab in San Jose, CA). SIL does not make enough to pay the rent on her own and before this experiment in eldercare, was in a 1 bedroom apt (C+ nab).

If SIL insists on staying there are going to be some months of non-payment and she was never the best house cleaner so she may will leave a mess if things don't go right.

So if she were your tenant, how would you want this to go? 

[Roy N.]

@M Marie M.

If she were my tenant, I would want he to arrive at the conclusion she needed to move before she gets into trouble. 

Next I would hope she would come to me (ASAP) and explain the situation with her mother and let me know she can not afford to remain on her own.  No landlord will be happy with this news, but most would like to hear it early before payments were late.

I would then have her work with me to actively recruit and secure a replacement tenant - by keeping her place show ready and allowing it to be shown on short notice.  Any potential tenants she discovers on her own should be redirected to use for vetting.   Once we find a new tenant, we would be more fine with letting her out of her lease.  Naturally, a hard line in the sand would need to be drawn to ensure she was out before she drowned.