Early Termination and Move-out - TEXAS

[Nguyen Nguyen]

TEXAS property - My tenant broke the lease due to her financial hardship during this pandemic. She has not paid the September rent and moved out on Sept 20th. She gave me a notice "5 days" in advance. I understood her situation and had a sympathy for her especially during this difficult time. I texted her that as long as she clears the property and pays the September rent, I will not go after her for breaking the lease. When I checked my property after the date she moved out, it was not in a good shape. The yard looks like it has been mowing for months (over foot long grass). The fridge are full of rotten food and maggots. She still has a bunch of her belongings in the house. This is my first rental house, so I did not know what I should do. My questions are

1. Do I need to send her any letter to respond to her early termination?

2. Can I changed the lock and restrict her access to the property since she broke the lease?

3. Can I hire someone to clear the property and throw away anything left behind? I will deduct the cost from the security deposit

4. After all the damaging and cleaning cost, can I keep the remaining balance of the security deposit for the Sept rent that she owes?

5. Should I file a small court claim because she owed the rent and broke the lease without a 60 day notice (written in the lease), or should I send it to a collection agency? 

She told me that she plans to move to other area of town and needs my reference about a month ago, but it is not an official one because she is not sure about it. She always paid rent late, and I planned not renewing the lease with her next year. Now she has moved out, and I do not have to go through the eviction process.