Tenant has retraining order on another tenant within as lease

[Amy Xu]

Hello I have 2 tenants that were boyfriend and girlfriend. They broke up and the girlfriend moved out and wants to be off the lease. The boyfriend is staying and has stayed he is not going to pay the entire rent amount. He expects the ex-girlfriend to continue paying through the end of the lease. 

The girlfriend said she has a retraining order on her boyfriend. Can I legally continue charging her rent even with a retraining order or do I have to take her off the lease? 

TIA!

[Nathan Gesner]

@Amy Xu

Your lease should include a "joint and several" clause that essentially means each person is 100% liable for the terms. The boyfriend can't pay half the rent and assume he's safe. Either you receive the full amount by the due date or you start the eviction process.

Personally, descent with kind of tenants you want to get rid of. I would consider negotiating an early departure with some form of penalty like a forfeiture of their deposit. They go their separate ways, you get the property back, and you can probably rent it again before incurring any loss.