Rental Agreement and Move in

[Sachin H.]

Hey Guys!

First time investor here and this one has started giving me a little headache now.

I have a tenant (3 working friends in mid 20s and this is not a college town either) who signed the lease agreement in mid Feb with the start date as Mar 1st.  They did give the deposit and told me and Property manager that they will give the rent one day before they move in.  They have transferred all the utilities to their name and on the 1st they said they won't move until 10th and now they are telling they are out of town, in the day shift/night shift and different stories but not sure if they really intend to move or not.  They have not collected the keys and have not paid the March rent as well.

My question

1) I have told property manager to collect full month of March rent as the lease agreement says rent starts from March 1st.  So if they don't move in in the next few days - As a landlord can I terminate the lease?

2) When I terminate the lease can I deduct the rent for 15 days from the deposit? or the full deposit?  What is the norm.

[Andrew B.]

if your property manager doesn't know how to handle this situation, in accordance with local laws, then why are you paying him?