What is a "reasonable" subtenant? - Landlord Forum thread 356175

What is a "reasonable" subtenant? by veggielover (Chicago) on February 16, 2018 @15:06

My tenant wants to break their lease to move in with friends for less rent.

I believe Chicago tenant lawys says I must accept a reasonable subtenant. This tenant has 720+ credit and 6X income/rent ratio. So I told him I will consider anyone with those numbers.

He is now putting pressure on me to accept someone with no credit history ( Irish citizen ) and has 5X income/rent ratio. Is this a "reasonable" subtenant?

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Re: What is a "reasonable" subtenant? by Anonymous on February 16, 2018 @15:36	[ Reply ]

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/tenants-right-break-rental-lease-illinois.html "The landlord does not need to relax standards for acceptable tenants—for example, to accept someone with a poor credit history. Also, the landlord is not required to rent the unit for less than fair market value, or to immediately turn his or her attention to renting your unit disregarding other business. Also, the landlord can add legitimate expenses to your bill—for example, the costs of advertising the property."

Re: What is a by Garry (Iowa) on February 16, 2018 @20:26	[ Reply ]

It seems your current tenant is an exceptional one. He has a really good credit score, and is making twice what most landlords use as a minimum amount of income (3x rent), to qualify to rent a place. I'm sure that is why you chose him as a tenant. But to expect another T to be that great, is asking a LOT of either yourself, or another person, to find someone like him again. Be honest with yourself------If your current T just up and moves, and quits paying rent, you're going to have to advertise to find a new T, right? And how many apps are you going to have to sift thru, before you find someone with a 720 credit score, and income of 6x rent?----probably at least 50, over a 2-4 month process. To answer your question, NO, you would not have to accept someone with no credit history, or a very low credit score. My personal view of a "reasonable" tenant, would be a 650+ credit score, and income of 3 1/2 times rent. That is what most LLs throughout the country use as a guide. Obviously, you don't want your T to leave, which is why you told him you only want a new T with a great credit score and LOTS of income. And I agree with you for thinking that way. But if your T wants to leave, only because he wants cheaper rent, and you are going to have a hard time finding someone of his quality to replace him, why not offer him a 10% reduction in rent, for him to stay? How much will that hurt your bottom line VS advertising costs, 1-3 months of lost income, utility costs, the time to show the place, to get and run apps, and anything else associated with a vacancy. Only you can answer those questions.

Re: What is a

Re: What is a "reasonable" subtenant? by AnonymousFL on February 16, 2018 @23:04	[ Reply ]

I just wanted to point out that there is some inconsistency with how you are using the term "subtenant". A subtenant is a tenant that rents the unit from the tenant. If you break a lease, the new tenant is simply a "tenant". You really should come up with a policy on how you might handle this sort of situation. How we handle it (and many landlords that I have worked with) is that the original tenant is responsible in the event the subtenant defaults on the lease. The subleasee completes an application and must be approved by you. If he is approved, a sublease ducument is signed by the original tenant, the sublessee, and yourself. It is not unusual for the original and subtenant to have a side agreement such as the original tenant paying a portion of the lease, utilities, or whatever they decide...but you generally do not even need to be a part of that. Leave it up to the original tenant to ensure the terms of the lease are upheld by his tenant. On thing you should address is that the security deposit is still to be returned to the original tenant (minus charges) as per the original lease unless they provide an alternate agreement. If nothing goes wrong during the remainder of the lease term, the lease ends and both parties move out, security deposit is addressed, etc. Of course, the original tenant will usually go on his merry way and you are left with the choice of allowing the subtenant to become a tenant of the unit on their own with their own brand new lease and security deposit. I suggest that you use the same approval criteria for the subtenant as the original tenant. It is easy and "reasonable". In this case, I would not personally accept the new tenant without a cosigner (just because he has the money does not mean he will pay the money). Good luck with it.