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breach of contract by one party. - Landlord Forum thread 326406

breach of contract by one party. by Anonymous on October 27, 2014 @21:33

                              
lease agreement finish December 31, 2014. tenant text me that he is divorcing his wife , and wants a recombination letter for his new place that he is moving on November 3rd.
wife facebook page said that she got a new place moving this week end.
so how i handle the situation because he is saying she is staying but her facebook page said different and i do not want to get involve in the middle of them if it is true the divore but still 2 months left in the contract that they should to pay and no 30 days notice, what to do regarding giving a reference when i am not sure she will be until the end of the contract, what to do?
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Re: breach of contract by one party. by Bill on October 27, 2014 @22:00 [ Reply ]
Tell your tenants that the only thing you can tell his next landlord is that him and his wife are breaking your lease.

Do not get involved in their move or their divorce. You are not their mother or their divorce counselor. This strictly does not involve you.

On November 3, post again with an update and ask for more advice on how to handle it and the deposit. Ignore their coming request to be removed from the lease because one is moving and the other is staying. Or so they say. Whatever you do, don't refund even a nickle of the deposit money.
Re: breach of contract by one party. by Katiekate (New York) on October 28, 2014 @09:19 [ Reply ]
I would tell him that you fully expect the rent to be paid through the end of the lease. They are obligated to you for both Nov. rent and Dec rent. I would make that VERY clear to them

If you do not get the rent on Nov. 1st. Post a "quit or pay" notice and assure them you will file for eviction if you are not paid.

I would NOT give them a reference. If anyone calls for a reference...I would tell them that this tenant has announced their intent to break the lease.

If you end up before a judge, usually you will get a max of 2 months rent for the broken lease. Of course, a judgement isn't the same as actually collecting the money. You best bet is to threaten them with an eviction proceeding on their permanent background records.
Re: breach of contract by one party. by Anonymous on October 28, 2014 @18:18 [ Reply ]
Does your lease contain an early termination clause and fee?
Re: breach of contract by one party. by L.A. on October 30, 2014 @20:24 [ Reply ]
Why not face this head on? I know a contract was signed and they, being adults, should live up to their end of the bargain and pay the last two months.
HOWEVER, in a divorce situation NO ONE wants to live in the place with the memories. Clearly this is the situation since both want out now.

Isn't the idea to have the place rented? You know you have to re-rent soon. Why not place an ad and start showing, indicating it could be available immediately. If you find a renter that wants to move in right away you both win.

In July I had a similar situation. The couple in my apartment were splitting up. Nasty, messy breakup where they couldn't look at each other. Neither had stayed in the place for a couple of weeks and she was wanted out more than 2 months before the lease was up. She said that he would take over the lease. He was tight lipped about the whole situation. I was concerned over so many aspects of this.

After fretting for a couple of days I decided I would try to be pro-active and work with them. I told them both I was putting an ad up for the apartment and that if a suitable renter could be found, and they left the apartment clean, I would allow them to break the lease without a penalty.
2 weeks later I found a suitable tenant. The couple moved out on separate days. They vacated 3 days before the end of the month. We hired a cleaning service that did a move-out cleaning, which was deducted from their deposit. We took two days to do minor repairs (new ceiling fans, paint touchups, etc) and our new tenant moved in the day after (August 1st).

I was so glad I didnt just wait and see what they would do and, most likely, force an eviction process, lawsuit, etc. It was a win-win situation.

If you talk to both parities and tell them you are sympathetic and amenable to breaking the lease provided certain conditions are met… you could end up ahead without ever having to go to court or escalate things to an ugly level, because lefts face it, eviction is just plain ugly for both sides.

Now, if you just want to stick it to them… then … go forth and good luck.
A different approach... by L.A. on October 30, 2014 @20:25 [ Reply ]
Why not face this head on? I know a contract was signed and they, being adults, should live up to their end of the bargain and pay the last two months.
HOWEVER, in a divorce situation NO ONE wants to live in the place with the memories. Clearly this is the situation since both want out now.

Isn't the idea to have the place rented? You know you have to re-rent soon. Why not place an ad and start showing, indicating it could be available immediately. If you find a renter that wants to move in right away you both win.

In July I had a similar situation. The couple in my apartment were splitting up. Nasty, messy breakup where they couldn't look at each other. Neither had stayed in the place for a couple of weeks and she was wanted out more than 2 months before the lease was up. She said that he would take over the lease. He was tight lipped about the whole situation. I was concerned over so many aspects of this.

After fretting for a couple of days I decided I would try to be pro-active and work with them. I told them both I was putting an ad up for the apartment and that if a suitable renter could be found, and they left the apartment clean, I would allow them to break the lease without a penalty.
2 weeks later I found a suitable tenant. The couple moved out on separate days. They vacated 3 days before the end of the month. We hired a cleaning service that did a move-out cleaning, which was deducted from their deposit. We took two days to do minor repairs (new ceiling fans, paint touchups, etc) and our new tenant moved in the day after (August 1st).

I was so glad I didnt just wait and see what they would do and, most likely, force an eviction process, lawsuit, etc. It was a win-win situation.

If you talk to both parities and tell them you are sympathetic and amenable to breaking the lease provided certain conditions are met… you could end up ahead without ever having to go to court or escalate things to an ugly level, because lefts face it, eviction is just plain ugly for both sides.

Now, if you just want to stick it to them… then … go forth and good luck.

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