Re: Tenant broke lease day 1 - CA property - Landlord Forum thread 360939

Re: Tenant broke lease day 1 - CA property by Garry on November 15, 2020 @12:53

First point-------NEVER show a place, unless it is 100% ready to be moved into. The "minor cosmetic issues" you "offered to fix", should already have been fixed before you showed it.

Next, You have a signed lease and a deposit. Did you get a signed paper from the T saying she does not want it, and you can rerent it to someone else. If you don't have that paper, in theory, she can still move in at a later date, if she pays you the Nov. rent.

If you didn't get her to sign that letter giving up the condo, you must now give her the standard 3 day notice to pay rent, or quit. That way, she either pays you rent for Nov. OR she chooses to "quit", meaning she chooses not to move in.

At that point, you still have her deposit. Now you can try to rerent the place. Any lost rent that you should have gotten from the original lease with her, can be taken out of that deposit. Also you can deduct any advertising costs, and any utilities you paid from Nov. 1, on, til it's rented.

Yes, she will owe you rent until you get it rented again. That's what the deposit is for. BUT----to collect any more from her, you would need to go to court next year to try to get it. My suggestion is ; rerent asap, use her deposit up in provable costs, forget about going to court, take your lumps (losses) and go on with your life.

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