Tenant Breaking Lease

[Brian Washburn]

I just signed a tenant to an 18 month lease in Omaha, NE. They looked at the house twice and agreed to an extended, 18 month lease. Now, 2 days into their term they wrote me to say that the house (2000 sqft) is too small for them, and they'd rather not even move in. Luckily, I already collected their 1st month rent.

What should I do? I have told them if they do not want to live there they need to provide me 60 days written notice and continue to pay rent until I find a new tenant (per the lease) . I also offered them $50 off rent each month to help cover a storage unit.

Thanks for any advice

[Nathan Gesner]

Follow the lease and the law.

If your leases doesn't specifically address this, then the basic rule is that you put the property back on the market. The original tenant remains responsible for rent, utilities, and other terms of the lease until a new tenant is placed. If you find someone else to move in on December 15th, charge the original tenant for 15 days of rent and refund the rest. If you don't find anyone to rent until January 15th, apply their deposit to the December rent and send them a bill for 15 days of January rent.

My personal preference? I have a clause in my lease that says they forfeit the deposit if they fail to take possession as agreed. Pocket the money and move on.