Two renters sharing a house, one wants to leave.

[Michael Fortier]

Hello Everyone

I am in Texas and have two college girls renting a house together. The 1 year lease started in May and yesterday I got an email from one of them saying that they aren’t getting along and she wants to leave. She is asking if it would be OK if she could find a suitable roommate to replace here. The two girls are both on the lease and their parents have both signed cosign agreements that they will be responsible for things. The one that would be staying is paid up for the whole year already and the girl wanting to leave pays the other half monthly. They both split the security deposit equally. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. This is my first rental house and I am trying to figure out the best thing to do here.

[Dave Carpenter]

Michael, it sounds like you did a lot right by having them both on the lease as well as parents cosiging. From a legal standpoint (not a lawyer) it seems like you are in decent shape.
I like the idea of giving the tenant who is staying the opportunity to find a new roommate, who I'm assuming you would run a background/credit check on.
I think I would recommend emailing (have it in writing) both tenants and parents with what the next steps are. Something like with Suzy wanting to move out and Betsy staying, both are financially responsible for the length of the lease. If however, a new tenant is found that everyone is ok with, then you could writer up anew lease releasing Suzy and parents from the current lease. This will show that you are trying to work with everyone. I think the thing to make clear is that first and foremost they are still responsible and you get final say on the new tenant.
Communication in writing is probably a good thing at this point so that everyone is on the same page.
Good luck!