Question regarding leases

[Michael King]

BP friends, I have a question. I bought a 4 plex in January and took on the existing tenants and leases. My plan was to just let the leases expire naturally then replace them with mine. What could be a more brilliant plan?

Well I finished rehabbing one of the vacant units and let an existing tenant peek inside. She fell in love with it and wants to move in immediately (with a nominal rent increase). Her current lease expires in July, and the lease is an agreement with the prior owner. I'm thinking that I can't just terminate that lease, nor make an amendment to it since I'm not on it. So the dilemma is that she has an agreement for 1 apartment with someone else and now I want her in another apartment, and an agreement with me. How do I go about this?

I'm thinking I'll just start a fresh lease agreement between her and me in the new apartment, and let the old lease just run it course (obviously without enforcing any of it). Or should I provide a written notice terminating her current lease?

I guess in future with inherited tenants I should have the seller terminate all leases so I can go in and start my own leases. 

I feel like I'm running behind the short bus here. 

[Kyle J.]

You’re the new owner so you inherited the existing leases. If you and the tenant both agree (which it sounds like you do), just cancel the old lease and then have her sign a new lease of your own for this new/vacant unit that she wants to move into.

Regarding your other comment about “in future with inherited tenants I should have the seller terminate all leases so I can go in and start my own leases”, it’d be nice if you could do that so you could start fresh with your own lease. However, that wouldn’t be legal.

The seller wouldn’t be able to just “terminate all leases” and you - as the buyer - would have to honor any existing leases already in effect upon purchase. Unless, of course, you AND the tenant mutually agreed to terminate the lease.