My tenant was robbed

[Mal K.]

One of my tenants apartment was robbed today. Someone broke the door to their unit and stole some stuff. I was told the cousin of one of my other tenants was staying in her apartment while she was out of town and that’s when the robbery happened. Now the tenant that just got robbed messaged me and said she feels unsafe, someone is making threats and she wants to break her lease and she would like her deposit to be returned. All of this happened in NY state. Can they break the lease? I paid for one night at the hotel so we can replace the door. Also we are installing a security cameras this week. Any advice?

[Frank Wolter]

@Mal K. I have over 122 tenants and been doing this for 15yrs. Do not pay for a hotel again! If she gets robbed or not she is still breaking the lease. If you put a clause in the lease that she can break the lease if she gets robbed then you must return it. But I have never seen a lease like that. Here's how i would handle it. Allow her to move because one way or another she's going to move. Tell her if i can rent the place with no months rent lost then i will return your deposit. If you have a gap then then no return of deposit. Or tell her you will allow her to break the lease once i can place a new tenant. Then place it for rent. Once its rented she can move. But don't ever pay for a hotel room again. Plus is someone actually really robbed her apartment. Some lie because they want to move. And my 20yrs experience as a police officer. Homes that get robbed are mostly done by people that they know. Feel free to reach out to me for any other questions. Good luck