Tenant wants to get out of lease early... help!

[Megan A.]

We've had a reliable renter for almost 2 years.  She just renewed a 1 year lease last month on May 1st.  She is now saying she is being relocated for a promotion at work (not sure if this is an excuse to get out of the lease or not) and asked if we could work with her on some type of arrangement.  We owner occupy our duplex and would need to move our stuff into her unit when she moves so this will be a lot of work a lot earlier than we were expecting.  We can't move until end of September.  Is it fair to ask her to pay rent through the end of September as well as forfeit her damage deposit (it was $1,000)?  We do not have anything in our lease about what happens if a renter wants to get out of their lease early...I will be adding something for the future though.  So I didn't know if legally we can keep her damage deposit in MN if we agree to her moving out early?  It is technically breaking her lease agreement though. It is also a big inconvenience to us.  However, I am certain we can rent out our unit that we've been living in and remodeling for at least $300 more than what we've been charging her.  Any input would be greatly appreciated!  I assume we would just type up a document stating that we agree to her terminating her lease at the end of September and that she agrees to forfeit her damage deposit? Thanks!

[Matthew Olszak]

@Megan A., why do you HAVE to move if she moves? What would you have done if she stayed the entire lease period, which would run 7 months past September? 

You are certainly in your rights to tell her that you won't agree to break her lease or that in order to do so she needs to pay 3 months (through September) + deposit. And I expect she'll just leave. If its true that she is being relocated, someone likely won't give up a promotion to hold their end of a lease. She's essentially telling you, "I need to break the lease, how can I make this easiest for both of us" and not asking for your permission to do so.