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Hi,
New Landlord of single family house in Texas here. Rented a house to some people who signed a one year lease. They moved into the house in July and by the end of August moved out. They did pay September rent. Looks like I may have it rented to a family for October now (signing the lease tomorrow).
My question is what is a reasonable re-let fee? The rent was $1,100 a month. I have already talked to a lawyer who said I am legally allowed to charge a re-let fee but said the amount was discretionary. How much is normal to charge? One months rent? Half of one month's rent?
Hi,
I have already talked to a lawyer who said I am legally allowed to charge a re-let fee but said the amount was discretionary.
Time for a new lawyer.
The relet fee is dicretionary as to charging it but not dicretionary as to what you can charge.
The fee would include the cost of readvertising the place, making it reasonably prepared for a new tenant (unless you took that cost out of the prior tenants security deposit), administrative cost associated with re renting the place (so long as you didn;t charge the new tenant for those cost) and whatever its costing you to find and place a new tenat in the place.
AND
It has to be rreasonable and proportionate to your normal measures for finding tennats. So if you normally place a newspaper ad, post signs, list on CL, etc, you can't go and hire a plane to fly all over the city towing a for rent sign. You can;t hire the Dallas Cheerleaders to stand out front doing a for rent cheer. It has to be reasonable an proportionate to your prior normal methods.
Without more experience in your market and more properties to spread costs across...
I'd be leery of using any sort of fixed fee for early terminations or re-letting.
Subject to the generally cooperative LL laws in Texas and what your lease may have boxed you into...
Stick with an accounting of the actual out of pocket expenses you incur to make ready, advertise, do credit reports, etc associated with a reasonable and diligent effort to re-let; PLUS all unpaid rent for every day the unit is empty. Don't make a final tally until the new tenants have moved in.
This cost recovery number could very easily exceed the security deposit you can charge.
In the even that it does... you then make the decision of whether you can get more out of the tenant (-->small claims court -->judgment -->try to collect) or to settle for what you already have on hand.
Ok thanks for the info!
Law mom- lease did not specify a specific amount. It only stated that I had the right to remedy in case of breech of the lease.
Ok thanks for the info!
Law mom- lease did not specify a specific amount. It only stated that I had the right to remedy in case of breech of the lease.
You must charge your cost. Cost of newspaper add, maybe you can even get gas to go showings etc. But you can only charge your actual costs.
Yes, they did give a reason for leaving (personal between the 2 of them and I don't want to air their private business in public). So, how could you possibly "know the answer to that"?
Follow-up: I ended up charging half month's rent for re-let fee. And updated the lease to include the amount if lease is broken early.....which is equivalent to one month's rent.
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