Tenants divorcing.. how to handle deposit

[Samantha Klein]

I have a tenant who is moving out because she can't afford the rent anymore because her husband has cheated and moved out. How do I handle the deposit? The wife says she paid it but this is a community property state.

[Marcia Maynard]

When someone moves out early and the other stays, we settle things at that time, by doing a property inspection and amending the lease to remove the name of the departing tenant. We tell the tenants that they need to settle up between themselves about their share of the security deposit, since we don't release any of it until after the unit has been returned to us at the end of the tenancy.

When the final tenant moves out and we've regained possession of the unit, we do our final accounting for return of the security deposit and write the refund check in the name(s) of whoever is still on the lease at the time when the tenancy ends.

Only one time did I write two checks. It was when two roommates, who weren't getting along, decided to call it quits and move out at the same time. They asked me to split the security deposit into two equal shares and write separate checks.

The key is to negotiate with all parties involved and come to a mutual understanding. Legally you must follow what is required by the terms of the signed lease and what landlord-tenant law for your jurisdiction requires. If all parties agree on a creative solution, just get everyone's signature on a document that clarifies what you agree to do. 

However, if there's a dispute about who should get the security deposit refund, and both their names are still on the lease at the end of tenancy, then you will need to write the check out in both their names and let the two of them settle it between themselves when they take the check to the bank to cash it.