DIYbanter - View Single Post - Junked car left on my property by former tenants

The Reverend Natural Light

wrote:
They regularly hold people to the terms of broken
leases, even if the apartment was left in immaculate shape and
immediately rented. The former tenant still pays the penalty (usually
up to a year's rent) after they left ... or at least have a judgement
against them.

Uh, no. In that case, there are no damages. You'd never win. The
ex-tenant could even sue for their deposit and win.

There are a lot of people paying landlords who would dissagree with
you. A lease is a contract. Break the lease and you are in breach of
contract. Lawyers sue you for that and they win.

Of course. If you break a contract you can/will be sued for damages.

Let's say the lease payments are $1000/month, the tenant walks out half
way through the year, and it takes 2 months to find a new tenant. The
damages are $2000 and the ex-tenant would be liable (and not limited to
the deposit). The landlord is obligated to make a reasonable effort to
mitigate the losses by seeking a new tenant.

If for some reason the landlord is unable to locate a new tenant for
whatever (good) reason, the ex-tenant is, of course, liable for every
penny that would have been owed for the full term.

Rental companies like to scare people with "unbreakable" leases, but
the fact is, you can break a lease absolutely any time for any reason.
Just be prepared to pay the full fair losses of the other party.

I keep reading posts about people breaking sales contracts because the
property depreciated. They ask, "Will I lose my deposit?" They're
lucky if that's all they lose!!

-rev