When a tennant signs a 3 year lease and then wants to leave after 1 year what right does the landlord have?

Answer 1

The landlord can continue to collect rent until the unit is re-rented, assuming the landlord is actively trying to fill the unit.

You could go to court seeking the whole amount of the contract, but I highly doubt you'd ever get it.

Answer 2

The landlord needs to look at why the tenant is leaving. Is the person being deployed to Iraq? Are they leaving because of apartment issues such as they feel the landlord is not keeping their end of the lease, or is not making needed repairs? If there is no issue, and the tenant is just bailing out, the landlord can retain the deposit and hold the tenant responsible for cleanup and damages to the unit. The landlord can then take the tenant to small claims court and obtain a judgment. A lease is a contract. A lot of the what the landlord can or can't do in case of a default should be disclosed in the lease and signed by both landlord and tenant.

Answer 3

3 year lease? Wow that's way too long for a residential unit.

You could sue, does your lease state a consequence? If so, you should adhere to it because they signed the agreement too. Usually, the LL would keep the security deposit, and charge the tenant for the rest of the months, however this is unlikely, seeing as though it probably will not take you 2 years to re-rent the property.

In the future, I would make the lease shorter. 2 years is more reasonable. I could see why you would ask 3 years, but you have to remember these people are renters-not owners. They might not want to invest 3 years in someone else's home willingly. Yes, the signed the contract and agreed to it, but I still think it is a far stretch. Some homeowners have a hard time sticking to some 5 year live in minimums!

Answer 4

The renter does have to complete the lease agreement. The landlord can at the min. collect rent on the until until it is re-rented as long as the landlord is making an effort to rent the unit at the same or lower currently rented price.

Beware, there are loopholes the renter can go through to get out of the contract all together and not lose any deposits are anything. I have had this happen in the past being a landlord.

If you are renting properties, i would highly suggest looking into protection for yourself and the landlord and your family, business. You can get legal counsel, letters and help and much more. Then next time you will not have to come on here and hope to get the CORRECT advise, you can call your local law firm and ask them your questions at NO COST.

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Answer 5

sounds to me like you are the landlord. Check your state laws as, for instance, here you can only sign a lease for one year. If they want to leave, they want to leave. Although you could keep their deposit, I'd keep their deposit only if something was ruined. Usually painting and normal wear and tear and rugs are considered normal wear and tear so you can't charge them for that. If I were the landlord I'd expect 30 days notice of move-out, during which time I'd be looking for a new renter. These days there are so many people in foreclosure that are looking for a place to live that you should have no problem finding another renter. But, you'd have to check them out really good. Or you might want to go thru a realtor who could rent it out for you and take care of the entire affair (calling a plumber, etc.) if you don't wish to handle this rental process yourself.

Answer 6

have you spelt out in the lease the consequences of breaking it, if so take action. Otherwise unfortunately there is nothing a landlord can do, the law works against them.