Wording in lease about breaking a lease

[Alan Pederson]

Someone asked me recently how I handle things if a tenant needs to break a lease. This person's father recently died and he didn't need to live in a 2 bedroom apartment anymore. He said there was a clause in his lease that allowed him to pay a penalty if he had to break the lease. I read through the lease agreement I had my tenants fill out and I have nothing in there about breaking a lease.

Should I add a clause in my lease agreement to address this? If so, what type of penalty would be appropriet?