Results 1 to 6 of 6

Threaded View

  1. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    1,995

    Default Re: If I Find Him New Tenants, Can I Break the Lease Why Does He Tell Me to Sublet

    Quote Quoting kalika
    View Post
    I thought that if I actual FIND him these tenants, then what can he complain about? I left AND did his work for him in order to mitigate his damages.

    Am I missing something?
    I was a landlord involved in some similar situations.

    First of all, December and January are the toughest times of the year to find tenants. If someone moves out in December, it'll be likely that that a typical landlord won't find anyone to move in till February or March. If a tenant depended on me to mitigate damages, it'll be two or three months before I can find someone, someone GOOD, and then the tenant would be stuck paying rent for a few months.

    Had a situation once where I had roommates, one guy left the other wanted to stay, and he was stuck finding a replacement, where I gave him permission to do so. Unfortuantely, the roomate moved the end of Nov, and when he he went to services to locate roomamates, he was told that they have none because no-one moves around Christmas and New Years. Wound up getting him evicted because he couldn't afford the place himself, and I refused to accept "half" the rent as full payment, and by February, he was way behind.

    I also had situations where tenants tried finding me replacements, the replacements were not creditworrthy, I rejected them, and the tenants were extremely upset that I was unjustly hindering things. In one case, the third time around I felt bad, accepted a tenant he found with a "shaky" history, but OK'd it. Yes, you can say I was rushed. This guy lost his job soon after, just as I thought he would, and I had to evict.

    With this eviction, where I lost a number of months rent, I was kicking myself for doing the orginal tenant a favor, rushed myself and dug myself into a hole. If I was NOT doing anyone a favor, I would rather keep an apartment empty rather than renting to a bad tenant. But when a tenant tries finding me a replacement, and I refuse a "bad" tenant, then I get accused of being a "greedy no good landlord".

    Of course, there is another option, which is to let the original tenant sublet, and he can guarantee the lease if the replacement doesn' pay. Sounds fair, right?? Now, in this case, the problem is the tenant who is leaving will say "I'm not in the landlord business, I don't want to worry about this guy not paying". Well, if that's the case, just let me "take my time" to find a right tenant, and you just mitigate my damages for how long it takes.

    What do I do??

    I have my tenant FORFEIT the 1-1/2 months security I normally require as liquidated damages, and I find the replacement myself. But I still come up short especially if I have to hire people to re-paint the apartment, repair damages, advertise to rent, and on top of which take the risk of not being able to re-rent quickly, particulary in December and January. Of course, tenants think I live high on the hog forfeiting a security deposit.

    What are you missing?? you ask.

    At least I'm realistic enough to realize people have to move unexpectedly, and at inconvenient times, even taking when taking the security deposit, I wind up short. It happens.

    On the other hand, some landlords REFUSE to accept the fact that they should come up short if they're doing someone a favor, i.e. let someone walk out on the lease. In some respects, I have to respect people who feel this way as well.

    In fact, my wife always complain why I wind up short all the time. It's OK if a departing tenant know I'm doing him a favor, and I'm coming up short. Normally, I come up short, do a favor, but the other guy still argues and thinks that I took advantage.

    Now I'm asking. Am I missing something??

    PS. I also had a number of cases where the tenant found me replacements, I waived "forfeiting the security", and a suitable replacement was found. Everyone is happy.

    In one case, the tenant asked me what my "criteria" was, I wrote them down, and the three girls interviewed everyone and submitted to me three finalist, all qualified. They even paid for the advertising, and did the showing. They moved out one day, and the new tenant moved in the next, I lost nothing.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Breaking a Lease: Responsibility to Find New Tenants If You Break a Lease
    By Fristule in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 08-23-2011, 05:32 PM
  2. Rental Agreements: Landlord's Obligations After Tenants Break a Lease
    By tuhelsky in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 02-22-2011, 07:18 AM
  3. Breaking a Lease: Can I Break My Lease or Get My Deposit Back if I Find a New Tenant
    By tenma in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 01-12-2011, 08:23 PM
  4. Eviction Process: One Tenant on Lease Will Not Pay Rent, Do I Have to Evict All Tenants on Lease
    By RuthieWilliams in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 12-04-2009, 07:48 PM
  5. Subleases: Breaking a Lease for an Illegal Sublet
    By PWK87 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 11-10-2009, 04:21 PM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources