Lease Termination

Your tenant wishes to vacate your premises, thereby terminating his / her tenancy. No doubt, as a first time landlord this leaves you wondering what steps you should take when a tenant wants to leave. There are two ways of terminating a tenancy and you can opt for either one or the other.

1. In accordance with the lease agreement, or
2. In violation of the lease agreement.

If you have a well-behaved tenant, he will issue you as his landlord, a Notice to Vacate within the timeframe outlined by your lease agreement. The notice period which normally is that of a month, allows the landlord sufficient time to prepare and find a new tenant for his rental property.

Most rental leases include a clause whereby tenants have to give their landlord in writing that they intend vacating within 30-days. But, if as a landlord you prefer 60-days notice, you can alter the clause in your lease with tenants. If you have no written agreement with your tenant, then most states require a minimum of 30 days written notice to vacate.

Bear in mind, a tenant is only required to give a Notice to Vacate if he / she is leaving before his / her lease expires, not otherwise. It is recommended landlords ensure they get notices to vacate in time by issuing Tenants Notice to Vacate Forms to tenants at the lease signing.

Once you have been informed by your tenant that he will be leaving in a month’s time, arrange with him / her to show the rental to new prospective tenants. As well, it is a good idea to send a Move out / Clean Up Reminder Letter, a couple of weeks before the tenant’s proposed move instructing the tenant that you require the property to be returned in the condition it was rented out i.e. cleaned inside outside with all debris removed. Inform them where to return the keys to the property, necessary if they wish to get their security deposit refunded.

A word of caution, do not refund security deposits on the day tenants are moving out. Better to do it after, as often damage to property is only noticed after tenants have left. You will find, as a landlord, it difficult to make a list of security deductions if a tenant is watching. Take your time inspecting the property once they are gone, as an upfront confrontation may cause more damage from a disgruntled tenant at move out time.

Let the move out proceed smoothly. Once tenants have packed and moved, you will find you have better control over their refund.