Do we give the deposit back? The person renting our house is moving out early, and has 4 mo. left on contract?
In the state of TN I cannot find and information on what we should do if the person brakes rental contract? Also, in contract it was to be rented to a NON_smoker, yet the woman smoked inside our house. Is that grounds for loss of deposit? Basically she was signed to rent our other house until Sept. 2007. It is only May. Should she get her deposit back?
Additional Details
5 minutes ago
We own the house out right, and had to move because of our careers, that is the only reason we CHOSE to rent it out otherwise. We now own our second home, the other is just now a rental house.
2007-05-30 07:20:19 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Other - Business & Finance
Usually the contract would state the conditions under which a deposit could be returned. If yours doesn't I suggest you revise your contract and slant the language to your benefit in the future.
As for now, if you have it rented or can easily do so between now and September, I might consider refunding her the deposit. In that case, arguably, that would be the right thing to do.
To me, the bigger issue is the smoking. If you explicitly said "don't smoke" and she did, it is reasonable that you will have to have some additional cleaning done to the house before you can rent it again. In other words, her deposit can pay for this.
I think you have one, if not two justifiable reasons to keep the deposit. However, what is "right" isn't always what is legal. See if you can find an attorney friend that might give you free advice on this one, but generally, what the contract says rules.
2007-05-30 07:29:53 · answer #1 · answered by lmnop 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She legally owes you rent until the end of the contract period. If you mutually choose to terminate her rental contract, then she is free to leave whenever. If she walks out without your consent to terminate, she is in breach of contract and you can sue her for the money, as well as reporting her to the credit authorities.
As for the deposit, you can only hold it to use in the repair of the home. If you hold it, you must itemize what it is used for:
$150 for shampooing the carpets
$ 80 for dry cleaning the drapes
and anything else you have to do to get rid of the smoke smell
You cannot withhold her deposit on principle, only for specific charges. You can however hold the deposit as part of the rent she owes you until September.
Unfortunately, you are not likely to get any money in a lawsuit, so it may be best to deal with her... you pocket her deposit and she pays for the cleaning of the house in exchange for your letting her out of the contract, or something like that.
2007-05-30 07:38:38 · answer #2 · answered by j c 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. Keep the deposit. If you want more information about this I own a number of properties that are rented out (8 years and running) and can provide you with legal information although I am not an attorney.
2007-05-30 07:24:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would hold her deposit just because of the smoking issue. She signed a contract, right? She still owes you the 4 months rent regardless of whether she lives there or not.
2007-05-30 07:24:46 · answer #4 · answered by greenfrogs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
regardless of the state, a settlement is a "settlement". in the beginning, the home is "non- smoking", 2d of each and every of the settlement is an settlement that states she could desire to stay there until eventually the settlement is up. 2 regulations are being broken. the respond isn't any. you ought to excuse the "smoking" section because of the reality that human beings do exchange, initiate new (or previous) conduct, this is in ordinary terms human. yet "enterprise" smart the settlement obligates her to stay the two in place of living, or to cover the lease of the place of living until eventually the reported date. If she asked for the deposit decrease back, tell her she could desire to first pay you the lease as much as the settlement ending date. save it enterprise. only considering the fact which you elect for to be slightly lenient, do no longer forget to additionally be slightly business enterprise. She broke the regulations, why could desire to you are able to desire to pay for her mistake?
2016-10-06 08:11:10 · answer #5 · answered by guyden 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wrote into my rental leases that if the renter leaves before 6 months that they forfeit their deposit. Perhaps you need to do something similar.
2007-05-30 07:25:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
dont know about the rules and regs where you are but here it would constitute a breach of contract on her part through no fault of yours so no i would say do not give the deposit back
2007-05-30 07:24:35 · answer #7 · answered by jonny w 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Did she ask for it back? If not, end of story.
If she does, just tell her the lease says "non smoking" but since she smoked, you have to have the carpets cleaned, etc etc., she violated the terms of the lease.
2007-05-30 07:25:57 · answer #8 · answered by TedEx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Check out these sites:
www.hud.gov/local/tn/renting/tenantrights.cfm
or
www.uslandlord.com
good luck.............but i think you can withhold it if they break the contract.
2007-05-30 07:29:12 · answer #9 · answered by Krissy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋