Charge full month at the end of lease?

Question

Great tenant wants to leave after a year citing maintenance issues (nothing major but small ongoing things). They want to leave in the middle of the month. I don't think my lease says anything about charging full or partial rent. What do you guys do? This is on short notice after the tenant wanted to renew but recent issues came up at the wrong time forcing them to reconsider.

Also what do you suggest while doing a walk around to check if nothing is broken. Is it good to wait for 2-3 weeks to mail them any remaining deposits?

Linda S. · Answer

I'd suggest pro-rating the rent, but I'd tell them that you're only doing this because they've been great tenants, and ask they have the place 100% cleaned up in exchange for the cheaper rent vs. charging an entire month. Maybe even give them a detailed cleaning list, and drop off the supplies so they can have it ready for showings?

Thomas S. · Answer

They are no longer great tenants they are soon to be ex tenants. Because of their inconsideration you are going to experience a vacancy. They do not deserve a break and should be charged a full months rent. Why would you take a loss because of their poor behaviour. They owe the months rent since you are being shafted, make them pay.

Maggie Bee · Answer

We rent by the month .... while rent may be prorated if they move in after the first of the month, it is never prorated if they move out before the end of the month .... if my tenant gives their 30 day notice on the 10th of the January, then they pay for the full month of February. If they chose to move out on Feb 15th, that is fine, but they do not get any of Feb rent money back. Don't ever return their security deposit until you have had time to inspect EVERYTHING after they have left. Most likely you will find things broken that you would have missed if you had given refund based on a walk through while tenants were still there. In AL, a lease automatically converts to month to month at the end of the year .... so most likely, your tenants are still in a lease agreement with you, even if their year is up ..... they pay for the entire month, no ifs, ands or buts ... tenants will try anything and everything to minimize the amount that they pay ( it is human nature ) but this is a business and you must treat it as such. Otherwise, you will end up working your rear end off and losing money. Definitely check your state laws because specifics do vary state to state .... but the basics are the same. I had a tenant that wanted me to do a walk through and then give them their security deposit back right then ... luckily, I knew better and I told them no. On the surface, it all looked good. After they left, I found so many things that they had destroyed, but rigged so that the damage could not be seen without opening drawers and really inspecting .... take photos of all the damage that you find. And keep the photos in a file with the property name and tenant name .... I like to have a set of pics from before moving and to compare ... they may remove towel bars, etc and you may forget that there used to be a towel bar there ... until the next tenant asks you why there is no towel bar and requests that you install one. Photos are very helpful to compare before and after. Anyway, good luck!

Ketan Patel · Answer

actually I misphrased. I meant that the tenant no longer wants to renew the lease and leaving 2 weeks after the lease is over. Which means I have to do another short term lease I think. Not sure as this is a weird situation. Was wondering if I need to charge the full months rent or only 2 weeks. The tenant never gave me trouble.They did not give a 60 day notice but 30 days.

Dave Van Horn · Answer

Hi @Ketan Patel,There's landlord tenant laws in reference to security deposits that can vary from state to state. In my state, it's 30 days. Some people will do a walk through while the tenants are still there while others do it after they leave. We do it afterwards because they're officially out of the property. We then itemize for damages with normal wear and tear accepted. Now if they broke the lease in the middle of the month, in that scenario we would just take that out of the security deposit. If there wasn't enough to cover damages and missed rent then it's a business decision whether to take them to court or not.Hope this helps.Best,Dave