All Forum Posts by: Tina Rubin

We have a tenant (RI) who has rented out a room in a shared apartment that would like out of their lease early. We are ok to allow this but want to charge a turnover fee which would equate to the same amount as the security deposit. I know the security deposit can only be used for damages so legally do we need to collect the fee from tenant prior to vacating?.

We're also wondering if we put in writing the following and they agreed via email if that's sufficient:

#1 they are still financially responsible until we are able to rent the space

#2 we're charging a turnover fee $1k to let them out of the lease early and collect that immediately

#3 security deposit will be returned according the the RI tenant laws (ie place is left in same condition as move in)

#4 room is made available at reasonable hours for showings/open house

Or do we need to hire an attorney to provide a lease addendum stating an early termination fee?

@Anthony Thompson - Thank you! We are leaning towards the "just bite the bullet and raise it to market rent" allowing for 3-4 months notice as opposed to trying to break the amount up in increments.  We also considered the renovation route but in this example, the unit is already in great condition and no need of updating. You are correct that we need to raise the rents to make the #'s work and knew this would be a tough part of the process.  

Scenario: Tenants who have been living in a unit for 10 years and paying $1K and the identical unit is renting for $1800. The tenants are month to month with no lease. Wondering the best approach to raise them to market rents. Looking for specific advise for this location. After initial RI Tenant Laws review, didn't see anything called out either way. Would like advice on how others successfully managed a similar situation. 

@Bill Brandt thank you! I'll check with local property management companies.

I'm wondering if its "common" practice to charge people for rental application /credit check screening or if the landlords are absorbing that cost in this market? We are about to use TransUnion's "mysmartmove" for application screening and wanted to know other landlord's opinion before we make a decision on whether or not to absorb the cost or have the prospective tenant pay.

Thank you!!

Tina Rubin 

@Kathleen Osborne thanks for the info.. interesting

@Gary Libero

I have an SFR in CA and RI and in both cases my agent wanted the same amount, which was equal to one months rent. But that was when the agent was doing all the work to market the place, screen the tenants, perform background checks,.credit checks, etc, legal disclosure forms, walkthrough etc. Now we are going to do that all ourselves. But if I was in your situation and the "renters agent" required a fee, it should be atleast half. Interesting enough, my son (tenant) when he wanted to rent in Boston he had to pay the agent fee, not the person listing the place. I was quite surprised by that.

@Christopher Lynch Congrats! I've been concerned with finding good contractors in that area and one of my hesitations in jumping into my next deal.

@Kyle Warren - I recently purchased a SFR rental for cash flow, out of state and picked RI because my son is local in RI. (I live in CA and have rental property here). I also want to invest more in RI or surrounding areas and CA is too expensive. I don't have a lot of experience in RI yet but we bought in East Providence and like it for how close it is to downtown. @Anthony Thompson has been a great help to me when seeking advice and like his feedback for you. All great points.

Great to connect!

@Anthony Thompson - makes perfect sense! Thank you!