Tenant quit job and is leaving before lease is up
Professional Engineer · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2017 · 117 posts · 75 votes
My tenant is going through a divorce and has decided to quit their job and leave the property. The lease isn't up until May 2019. What is the best plan of action legally. This was a very qualified tenant with great references and verified previous landlords. Suddenly it is next to impossible to communicate. I don't fully understand what I am legally allowed to do. This property is in St. Cloud, MN. I have the property listed and am collecting applications for a new tenant. Beyond that I'm not entirely sure what I'm allowed to do.
What does it say in your lease about breaking the contract? Do you have any penalty written in? If not, you may just have to live with an unexpected turnover. Make sure you communicate the state you expect the property to be in when he/she leaves. Good luck!
Thanks for the reply @Amanda G. My lease is the Minnesota standard lease, it says "Duty to pay rent after eviction or surrender. Rent is due under this lease even if the tenant surrenders the premises or is evicted by the Landlord. Landlord shall make good faith effort to mitigate damages."
Thank you @Natalie Schanne, my tenant was qualified and had a great paying job that they quit. Reason they gave is they are entering the witness protection program in a divorce case and moved to an undisclosed location.
@Amanda G. I would ask my tenant to give me a referral but they have gone silent. Communication with this tenant was always very quick and easy. Suddenly they are next to impossible to reach. No answering phone calls and not responding to text or email.
@Isaac Braun One key point you left out of your question is "entering the witness protection program in a divorce case and moved to an undisclosed location." If this is true then there is a legally correct answer. Here is MN law on this issue:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/504B.206
(a) A tenant to a residential lease may terminate a lease agreement in the manner provided in this section without penalty or liability, if the tenant or another authorized occupant fears imminent violence after being subjected to:
(1) domestic abuse, as that term is defined under section 518B.01, subdivision 2;
(2) criminal sexual conduct under sections 609.342 to 609.3451; or
(3) stalking, as that term is defined under section 609.749, subdivision 1.
(b) The tenant must provide signed and dated advance written notice to the landlord:
(1) stating the tenant fears imminent violence from a person as indicated in a qualifying document against the tenant or an authorized occupant if the tenant or authorized occupant remains in the leased premises;
(2) stating that the tenant needs to terminate the tenancy;
(3) providing the date by which the tenant will vacate; and
(4) providing written instructions for the disposition of any remaining personal property in accordance with section 504B.271.
(c) The written notice must be delivered before the termination of the tenancy by mail, fax, or in person, and be accompanied by a qualifying document.
(d) The landlord may request that the tenant disclose the name of the perpetrator and, if a request is made, inform the tenant that the landlord seeks disclosure to protect other tenants in the building. The tenant may decline to provide the name of the perpetrator for safety reasons. Disclosure shall not be a precondition of terminating the lease.
(e) The tenancy terminates, including the right of possession of the premises, as provided in subdivision 3.
(a) A landlord must not disclose:
(1) any information provided to the landlord by a tenant in the written notice required under subdivision 1, paragraph (b);
(2) any information contained in the qualifying document;
(3) the address or location to which the tenant has relocated; or
(4) the status of the tenant as a victim of violence.
(b) The information referenced in paragraph (a) must not be entered into any shared database or provided to any person or entity but may be used when required as evidence in an eviction proceeding, action for unpaid rent or damages arising out of the tenancy, claims under section 504B.178, with the consent of the tenant, or as otherwise required by law.
(a) A tenant who is a sole tenant and is terminating a lease under subdivision 1 is responsible for the rent payment for the full month in which the tenancy terminates. The tenant forfeits all claims for the return of the security deposit under section 504B.178 and is relieved of any other contractual obligation for payment of rent or any other charges for the remaining term of the lease, except as provided in this section. In a sole tenancy, the tenancy terminates on the date specified in the notice provided to the landlord as required under subdivision 1.
(b) In a tenancy with multiple tenants, one of whom is terminating the lease under subdivision 1, any lease governing all tenants is terminated at the latter of the end of the month or the end of the rent interval in which one tenant terminates the lease under subdivision 1. All tenants are responsible for the rent payment for the full month in which the tenancy terminates. Upon termination, all tenants forfeit all claims for the return of the security deposit under section 504B.178 and are relieved of any other contractual obligation for payment of rent or any other charges for the remaining term of the lease, except as provided in this section. Any tenant whose tenancy was terminated under this paragraph may reapply to enter into a new lease with the landlord.
(c) This section does not affect a tenant's liability for delinquent, unpaid rent or other amounts owed to the landlord before the lease was terminated by the tenant under this section.
[Repealed by amendment, 2014 c 188 s 2]
A residential tenant may not waive, and a landlord may not require the residential tenant to waive, the tenant's rights under this section.
For purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given:
(1) "court official" means a judge, referee, court administrator, prosecutor, probation officer, or victim's advocate, whether employed by or under contract with the court, who is authorized to act on behalf of the court;
(2) "qualified third party" means a person, acting in an official capacity, who has had in-person contact with the tenant and is:
(i) a licensed health care professional operating within the scope of the license;
(ii) a domestic abuse advocate, as that term is defined in section 595.02, subdivision 1, paragraph (l); or
(iii) a sexual assault counselor, as that term is defined in section 595.02, subdivision 1, paragraph (k);
(3) "qualifying document" means:
(i) a valid order for protection issued under chapter 518B;
(ii) a no contact order currently in effect, issued under section 629.75 or chapter 609;
(iii) a writing produced and signed by a court official, acting in an official capacity, documenting that the tenant or authorized occupant is a victim of domestic abuse, as that term is defined under section 518B.01, subdivision 2, criminal sexual conduct, under sections 609.342 to 609.3451, or stalking, as that term is defined under section 609.749, subdivision 1, and naming the perpetrator, if known;
(iv) a writing produced and signed by a city, county, state, or tribal law enforcement official, acting in an official capacity, documenting that the tenant or authorized occupant is a victim of domestic abuse, as that term is defined under section 518B.01, subdivision 2, criminal sexual conduct, under sections 609.342 to 609.3451, or stalking, as that term is defined under section 609.749, subdivision 1, and naming the perpetrator, if known; or
(v) a statement by a qualified third party, in the following form:
STATEMENT BY QUALIFIED THIRD PARTY
I, .................... (name of qualified third party), do hereby verify as follows:
1. I am a licensed health care professional, domestic abuse advocate, as that term is defined in section 595.02, subdivision 1, paragraph (l), or sexual assault counselor, as that term is defined in section 595.02, subdivision 1, paragraph (k), who has had in-person contact with .................... (name of victim(s)).
2. I have a reasonable basis to believe .................... (name of victim(s)) is a victim/are victims of domestic abuse, criminal sexual conduct, or stalking and fear(s) imminent violence against the individual or authorized occupant if the individual remains (the individuals remain) in the leased premises.
3. I understand that the person(s) listed above may use this document as a basis for gaining a release from the lease.
I attest that the foregoing is true and correct.
(Printed name of qualified third party)
(Signature of qualified third party)
(Business address and business telephone)
I have had this happen to me. Call or message if you want to talk it through. Today is bad, please reach out tomorrow if possible.
This is probably one of the smaller things they are going through in the middle of a divorce. I am sure your approach has been very soft and constructive, but I wanted to quickly remind everyone this is probably item number 14 on this person's list.
You want to be sure you are legally compliant here and are doing everything by the book. I would only communicate via email. Tends to protect you and make it easier to get a response (especially with a positive subject line).
Good luck! Just get a new tenant in there and do your best afterwards!
The reality is that you are probably getting some thick bs on the witness protection scenario. Focus on getting the property cleaned up and rented before worrying about the any deficiencies
You will have to pursue him at some in small claims(Or what it is called in Mn). The reality is you will have to be able to locate them to serve them and most tenants are uncomfortable anyway. Again , I would focus my efforts on finding a new tenant.
This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you. I will get in touch with you tomorrow.
Thank you @Daniel Kurkowski
We put in a break lease (or early termination option) into our lease of approximately two months. I would talk to a lawyer about this, but sometimes tenants do this so it's good to have the option. Most will pay, some won't in which case you'll just have to charge them it. You can't stop someone from leaving.
@Isaac Braun At this point, I'd focus on filling the property with a qualified tenant. If you can't get in touch with the existing tenant, you may be wasting your time and energy. Good luck!!
@Andrew Syrios @Rachel H.I'm really not too concerned about the money, I just want the house to be left in good shape and for them to get out if they don't plan to pay anymore. According to the lease they owe the rent for the entire term of the lease, but with the tenant claiming they are in the witness protection program now, I can assume its not true, but I'm not willing to take any legal risks until I am more educated on the subject. I will be heading to the property this weekend, I just wanted to check in with the BP forums before I enter the property with 24 hour notice. My last communication with the tenant, they said they will be out by October 1. I drove by the other day and noticed their patio furniture was still there, so I assume furniture is on the inside as well. I want to be able to show the house as soon as possible to minimize vacancy loss. I have a couple qualified applicants lined up ready for a showing already with more applications coming in each day.
@Andrew Syrios @Rachel H.I'm really not too concerned about the money, I just want the house to be left in good shape and for them to get out if they don't plan to pay anymore. According to the lease they owe the rent for the entire term of the lease, but with the tenant claiming they are in the witness protection program now, I can assume its not true, but I'm not willing to take any legal risks until I am more educated on the subject. I will be heading to the property this weekend, I just wanted to check in with the BP forums before I enter the property with 24 hour notice. My last communication with the tenant, they said they will be out by October 1. I drove by the other day and noticed their patio furniture was still there, so I assume furniture is on the inside as well. I want to be able to show the house as soon as possible to minimize vacancy loss. I have a couple qualified applicants lined up ready for a showing already with more applications coming in each day.
I would talk to an attorney, there would probably need to be some sort of documentation they could provide for that or you would be contacted by authorities. That does sound like an absurd lie to me.
@Isaac Braun- Sounds like you have a plan. I'm not sure if it was mentioned but if they left stuff at the property make sure you check the laws around keeping the items in storage for the legally required period of time. Best of luck, this sounds like an unfortunate situation for all parties.
@Armin Nazarinia yes I have a plan and at the end of the day, it really doesn't bring me a whole lot of headaches. I'm just new and I am trying to stay within the limits of the law.
@Isaac Braun I don't think that she is going into witness protection, it is most likely the "safe at home" program. It is run by the MN Secretary of State and allows police officers, government officials, victims of domestic violence, etc to hide their physical address. They will not have their physical address on their drivers license, utilities, or anything else. The person uses a Safe at home PO box as their address the program then puts the mail in a plain envelope each day and sends it to their actual address. They are told to change cell phones and numbers upon entering the program.
The law came about from VAWA (Violence against women act, a federal law) as it is called allows the victim of Domestic abuse or stalking to end a lease. They must give you proof from the court like an order for protection, a letter from a domestic abuse counselor, or such. They must give you written notice (it can be 1 day if they want). They are required to pay you full rent for the month, but you likely will have trouble recovering that. They are not required to pay rent beyond that month until it is rented like in other situations.
Let me know if you need any further advice with this.
Definitely talk to an attorney about this. I agree with some of the other comments on here--don't believe what your tenant says unless you have some proof. I'm not an attorney in MN, but some states have duty to mitigate laws (essentially you have to do everything possible to rent out the property to cut your losses.)
Get your Ps and Qs in order and gear up to collect on the rest of the lease--since your tenant signed a contract obligating them to the full term of the lease (at least I assume that is the case.) Talk to a lawyer and let us know how it goes!
@Amber Gonion I will DM you. Thank you