All Forum Posts by: Marc Winter

Ericka,

Unfortunately, this is not that uncommon an issue.  When that happens to me, I feel like I dodged a bullet--better a vacant unit than a unit with a bad tenant in it.  Let him out of the lease, get the keys and keep the rent. 

Going forward, perhaps think about finding someone closer to the unit to open the door for new prospects.  Also, we try to group prospective tenants in a time frame of one hour, and pay a trusted person in the area to be there, unlock the door, give the prospects feature sheets and an application with details/instructions on our rental process, which we supply.  Then they lock up after, and report back to us.

If that trusted person is not a licensed real estate professional, they should inform the prospects to contact you, the owner, with any additional questions, and how the application process/screening works--they are not there to answer questions, only to open the door.

Hope this works for you as well as it works for us!

One key point here is to make sure you are knowledgeable on your state landlord/tenant law.  That being said, keep in mind--a judge can use wide discretion on adjudicating a case. We have found that just because it states something in the lease, if a tenant (or ex-tenant) decides to bring a landlord/tenant action, a judge may strike that point of the lease.  Of course, one can appeal any decision, but that is costly. 

Personally, our policy is to follow the letter of the law AND our lease clauses--no exceptions (l/t court aside).

We also have a lease clause stating forfeiture of deposit for early termination without 60-day written notice.  So, if your state allows, retain the deposit, send the proper notification (if required) to tenant's forwarding address, and move on to find new tenants that (hopefully) will be better. 

It will also put the remaining tenant on notice that you running a business and are fair, but firm. This kind of thing happens more often that any landlord wants, so screen, screen, screen and hope for the best, but be prepared. 

Best,

Marc