• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

tenant breaks lease

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

M

mystimper

Guest
Tenant brought home grown dog from bad family. Reluctantly allowed (actually just didn't refuse) the dog. Tenant decides to get rid of dog. A day later she brings a puppy home. we tell her no to the puppy - it states in the lease "no pet without prior written consent from landlord". She can't find a home for the puppy - 45 days later written notice is given to get rid of puppy in 5 days or vacate premises. 10 days later the puppy finally is gone. 2 days after that the tenant decides to leave. The lease is signed for another 5 months, the lease states she must give 30 day notice - no notice was received. She states she can leave because we gave her the 5 day notice. We say that because she got rid of the puppy her lease is now legal and binding again. Does she have the right to leave now? Can we keep any security deposit as rent for the time the apartment sits empty while we try to get it rented again?
 


HomeGuru

Senior Member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by mystimper:
Tenant brought home grown dog from bad family. Reluctantly allowed (actually just didn't refuse) the dog. Tenant decides to get rid of dog. A day later she brings a puppy home. we tell her no to the puppy - it states in the lease "no pet without prior written consent from landlord". She can't find a home for the puppy - 45 days later written notice is given to get rid of puppy in 5 days or vacate premises. 10 days later the puppy finally is gone. 2 days after that the tenant decides to leave. The lease is signed for another 5 months, the lease states she must give 30 day notice - no notice was received. She states she can leave because we gave her the 5 day notice. We say that because she got rid of the puppy her lease is now legal and binding again. Does she have the right to leave now? Can we keep any security deposit as rent for the time the apartment sits empty while we try to get it rented again?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It depends on the language in your 5 day notice. Under the standard pay or quit notice, the lease agreement is cancelled due to nonpayment of rent or failure to correct violations.
It would appear that in your case, you were the one that gave the notice to vacate and cancelled the lease agreement. Therefore the tenant is not required to give you notice to vacate.
If you did not give the tenant subsequent written notice that the lease agreement was not cancelled, then your last and most recent notice stands.
The security deposit must be handled as if the tenant just moved out at expiration of the lease, which is the end of the 5 days or when the tenant actually moved out.
 
M

mystimper

Guest
Thanks for the information. We certainly learned a lot with this tenant and hope to make better decisions next time.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top