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As for trying to get it rented ...I have ads in 5 different places
You have a quandary here ...
regarding the mitigation aspect of things you're (likely) obliged to do the exact same sort
of advertising methods and interview/application process and criteria as you used before.
The problem is that if you want a better, or at least more likely to stay put boarder...
then you'll (likely) need to change up that approach to target the sort of boarder you do want.
If this new and improved approach takes longer than just finding warm bodies (and it should)...
that isn't the departing boarders fault.
Now comes a problem, you may want to consult a lawyer before you withhold the rent for the period to find a tenant.
You have stated that you have told the tenant you agree to cancel the lease, and for her to be out on the last day the rent has been paid. As you have cancelled the lease with the tenant as of a certain day, to withhold rent after that date, may be illegal in South Carolina as it is in most states after the date the lease has expired.
If there was rent due as of the date she moved out, then you could withhold the rent due. However as of the last day of the month there is no lease by your allowing it to be cancelled, she has no obligation to pay rent after that date, and if there is no lease and thus no rent due, you probably cannot withhold any rent.
Remember by North Carolina law, if you withhold money that you are not allowed to withhold, you will have to reimburse her triple the amount illegally withheld. I spent from 1972 until I retired in another state with similar laws concerning rentals, as an investment real estate broker, managing numerous properties for investors, and was president of a large county wide rental owners and managers association. In that period I know of several owners that illegally held deposit money, or did not return it within 30 days from the day it went vacant, and were ordered by small claims court to repay the property owner triple (illegally withheld funds) damages, plus the court costs.
Now comes a problem, you may want to consult a lawyer before you withhold the rent for the period to find a tenant.
You have stated that you have told the tenant you agree to cancel the lease, and for her to be out on the last day the rent has been paid. As you have cancelled the lease with the tenant as of a certain day, to withhold rent after that date, may be illegal in South Carolina as it is in most states after the date the lease has expired.
If there was rent due as of the date she moved out, then you could withhold the rent due. However as of the last day of the month there is no lease by your allowing it to be cancelled, she has no obligation to pay rent after that date, and if there is no lease and thus no rent due, you probably cannot withhold any rent.
Remember by North Carolina law, if you withhold money that you are not allowed to withhold, you will have to reimburse her triple the amount illegally withheld. I spent from 1972 until I retired in another state with similar laws concerning rentals, as an investment real estate broker, managing numerous properties for investors, and was president of a large county wide rental owners and managers association. In that period I know of several owners that illegally held deposit money, or did not return it within 30 days from the day it went vacant, and were ordered by small claims court to repay the property owner triple (illegally withheld funds) damages, plus the court costs.
Wow, thank you for your professional answer. I DID verbally agree, however, I also DID ask her for the notice and told her she would be forfeiting her SD. Doesn’t that count? It sounds as if the tenant holds all the rights in this case, which is very wrong. She is causing me financial lose.
Plus, nothing is in writing. She is stating I never said anything about the SD. I can just as easily say I told her she is responsible until I find someone (I wouldn’t because I won’t lie) but my point is nothing is in writing. Why then, does it fall on me to lose out?
I guess the bottom line is that I verbally agreed to end the lease. She should be grateful I’m allowing that. Instead she is threatening me for her SD. It’s the principal of the matter. Many other landlords would not have been so accommodating
I am trying to get that information. She wrote a clear and concise letter about the SD but neglected to mention she’s breaking the lease. I am so disheartened right now. I did the right thing by allowing her out of the lease 9 months early.
I showed the place once and gave her 24 hour notice so she can remove the dogs from apt to make showing her room easier. She abliged. I thought this woman was going to sign a lease, but did not. As it’s already almost the last week of the month I doubt I’ll have it rented for June 1st. Plus, she stated she’ll be out May 31sr, and I need time to clean the rooms, wash carpets, etc. earliest I can rent it out would be mid June. There’s where the SD money is needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by saralvr
I am a landlord who rented a room and private bath, along with full use of apt to a woman. There is another person renting a 2nd room and private bath. Both have full use of apt. After 1 month she came to me crying she wants her own place and that she made a huge mistake. She wanted to break the lease. I agreed with 2 conditions. One, give me 30 days notice and two, security deposit not refundable due to inconvenience of now trying to rent it again. Security deposit is only half of months rent. She gave me notice on May 1st and along with that sent a letter notarized that the lease clearly states she’ll get back her security deposit after she vacates and I do a walkthrough. The lease does not state anything about breaking the lease because it’s a one year lease...simply said. Never added anything about breaking a lease because I never had intention of honoring that. Her breaking the lease and my acceptance of this is not in writing. I’ve been advised to not respond at all. Anyone have an opinion that could help me? Sadly, she admitted she had bad credit but I liked her when we met, she had a job, and I gave her a chance. I’m a nice person, but feel abused. She’s clearly breaking the lease but wants no repercussions.
This is where you failed in every possible way. 1) you don't even have anything in writing in your lease regarding breaking it 2) you can't tell someone that they can not break a lease 3) she never signed a lease anyway agreeing to any other terms in order to rent from you and 4) now you sit with nothing but a verbal agreement which won't hold up in court because you don't get to make up the rules/terms as you go along especially when there is nothing in writing and/or signed that anyone agreed to. It is nothing but a "he said/she said" or your word against theirs. And somehow you thought this was a good idea and would somehow work in your favor?
So now, because you had nothing in writing, it then defaults to the state statutes. As oldtrader has clearly pointed out, security deposits can only be used for damages and unpaid rent. So, because she paid her rent up to the last day of her tenancy then she does not owe any rent so therefore you can not keep or deduct any rent from her security deposit per the SC rental statutes, period. It will never hold up in court. AND, you can't force her to continue paying rent until you find another tenant either because.you.have.nothing.in.writing.and.signed.any where!
If you want to cover yourself if a tenant/boarder wants to break a lease then you better get a break lease clause added to your lease from here on out. And that break lease clause must be within the guidelines of the SC state rental statutes. And, if this is a true "boarder" situation and not a "tenant" situation then you need to also look up the laws and regulations for a boarder instead of a tenant situation to see if they have the same or different statutes for security deposits, notice terms, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldtrader
Here is the South Carolina Laws on security deposits.
Now comes a problem, you may want to consult a lawyer before you withhold the rent for the period to find a tenant.
You have stated that you have told the tenant you agree to cancel the lease, and for her to be out on the last day the rent has been paid. As you have cancelled the lease with the tenant as of a certain day, to withhold rent after that date, may be illegal in South Carolina as it is in most states after the date the lease has expired.
If there was rent due as of the date she moved out, then you could withhold the rent due. However as of the last day of the month there is no lease by your allowing it to be cancelled, she has no obligation to pay rent after that date, and if there is no lease and thus no rent due, you probably cannot withhold any rent.
Remember by North Carolina law, if you withhold money that you are not allowed to withhold, you will have to reimburse her triple the amount illegally withheld. I spent from 1972 until I retired in another state with similar laws concerning rentals, as an investment real estate broker, managing numerous properties for investors, and was president of a large county wide rental owners and managers association. In that period I know of several owners that illegally held deposit money, or did not return it within 30 days from the day it went vacant, and were ordered by small claims court to repay the property owner triple (illegally withheld funds) damages, plus the court costs.
This is where you failed in every possible way. 1) you don't even have anything in writing in your lease regarding breaking it 2) you can't tell someone that they can not break a lease 3) she never signed a lease anyway agreeing to any other terms in order to rent from you and 4) now you sit with nothing but a verbal agreement which won't hold up in court because you don't get to make up the rules/terms as you go along especially when there is nothing in writing and/or signed that anyone agreed to. It is nothing but a "he said/she said" or your word against theirs. And somehow you thought this was a good idea and would somehow work in your favor?
So now, because you had nothing in writing, it then defaults to the state statutes. As oldtrader has clearly pointed out, security deposits can only be used for damages and unpaid rent. So, because she paid her rent up to the last day of her tenancy then she does not owe any rent so therefore you can not keep or deduct any rent from her security deposit per the SC rental statutes, period. It will never hold up in court. AND, you can't force her to continue paying rent until you find another tenant either because.you.have.nothing.in.writing.and.signed.any where!
If you want to cover yourself if a tenant/boarder wants to break a lease then you better get a break lease clause added to your lease from here on out. And that break lease clause must be within the guidelines of the SC state rental statutes. And, if this is a true "boarder" situation and not a "tenant" situation then you need to also look up the laws and regulations for a boarder instead of a tenant situation to see if they have the same or different statutes for security deposits, notice terms, etc.
Perhaps I should clarify. I DO have a lease. It is a written and signed lease. It just doesn’t have anything written in it about breaking the lease. I have plenty written in it, just not about breaking it. She came crying to me. I said she can break the lease. I told her that there were conditions to my agreeing. 30 day notice and forfeit of SD. That’s it. Now I get a notarized letter telling me I have to pay. She conveniently never heard me say anything about the SD.
It’s not the money. It’s the gall of people. She should be grateful I’m allowing her to break a legal and binding contract. Since nothing is in writing it truly is a he said she said situation.
Perhaps I should clarify. I DO have a lease. It is a written and signed lease. It just doesn’t have anything written in it about breaking the lease. I have plenty written in it, just not about breaking it. She came crying to me. I said she can break the lease. I told her that there were conditions to my agreeing. 30 day notice and forfeit of SD. That’s it. Now I get a notarized letter telling me I have to pay. She conveniently never heard me say anything about the SD.
It’s not the money. It’s the gall of people. She should be grateful I’m allowing her to break a legal and binding contract. Since nothing is in writing it truly is a he said she said situation.
Try reading what I wrote again because it appears you clearly missed 99% of it. I am not going to repeat it all again nor should I need to. And you also stated that she never signed the lease. (see the statement I bolded in post #26 from your quoted post.) But nonetheless, you still did not have any form of a lease break clause in your lease even if she had signed it so therefore what you "told" her doesn't mean a hill of beans and will never hold up in court. In other words, you don't get to make up the rules as you go along and not have it in writing and signed by both of you.
And um, no, she does not need to be "grateful" that you are letting her break the lease because, as I stated in my previous post, you don't get to dictate whether someone can break a lease or not. What you can dictate is whether there is a penalty or not and that penalty must be within the limitations of your state's rental statutes and that it is also in writing and signed.
This is a business you are running afterall, not a casual "pinky swear" verbal agreement among friends.
Perhaps I should clarify. I DO have a lease. It is a written and signed lease. It just doesn’t have anything written in it about breaking the lease. I have plenty written in it, just not about breaking it. She came crying to me. I said she can break the lease. I told her that there were conditions to my agreeing. 30 day notice and forfeit of SD. That’s it. Now I get a notarized letter telling me I have to pay. She conveniently never heard me say anything about the SD.
It’s not the money. It’s the gall of people. She should be grateful I’m allowing her to break a legal and binding contract. Since nothing is in writing it truly is a he said she said situation.
Well. Consider this a cheap lesson for next time. At the end, you might be out a month or a month and a half of rent - however, you’re not dealing with that on top of damages, etc.
Make sure your lease document addresses early termination, responsibilities and duties as a tenant in a multiple tenant dwelling.
On a side note. Renting by the room in a dwelling that you do not reside in is probably the worst idea I’ve ever heard of. Why pursue this path?
Seems there was confusion with this statement from OP:
"I showed the place once and gave her 24 hour notice so she can remove the dogs from apt to make showing her room easier. She abliged. I thought this woman was going to sign a lease, but did not."
I interpret the above statement from OP to mean that the 2nd person ("this woman") didn't choose to rent thus didn't sign the lease. Even though the landlord thought "this woman" was going to sign. "this woman" wasn't the person breaking the lease. Rather, it was going to be a replacement tenant for the person breaking the lease.
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