Re: Withholding Security Deposit for early Termination

Re: Withholding Security Deposit for early Termination by Garry (Iowa) on February 1, 2018 @17:39

Courts all over the country, especially small claims courts, are all about equity. Whether you are the plaintiff or the defendant, courts try make judgements as equitable as possible to both parties. If a tenant breaks a lease, and the landlord can prove damages, they will win. HOWEVER, to be equitable to the T also, courts have ruled that the LL at some point, must TRY to get his property re-rented again to another T. He/she cannot just leave it set vacant for months on end, and expect a former to pay thousands of $ for a property that he could not use. If the LL succeeds, then the old T is off the hook, and the new T is on.

I, personally, only do M2M leases for all my Ts, starting from day 1. I want the ability to get rid of a T in a relatively short time frame, if they are breaking the lease in other ways unrelated to non-payment of rent. Most Ts do not want to break a lease. But sometimes life happens, and a lease gets broken. So let the T go, find a new T, and take the old T to court for the ACTUAL damages you suffered.

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]

Re: Withholding Security Deposit for early Termination - Landlord Forum thread 355961