The expectations you have for every Orlando tenant you place are pretty consistent. You expect them to pay rent on time, take care of your investment, and follow the terms of your lease agreement.
You also expect them to stay in place for the full term of that lease.
But, what if they want to break the lease and leave early?
This can be frustrating for owners, especially when you weren’t planning on the vacancy or the turnover process.
Here’s some advice from Orlando property managers on how to handle lease breaks.
Things Happen and Even Good Tenants Break Leases
First, don’t take it personally. If you’re going to have an emotional reaction, have that reaction privately, before you reach out to your tenants.
It’s easy to panic when your tenant notifies you that they are moving out before the end of the lease term. You might question whether your screening process is thorough enough and you might wonder how this could happen when you thought you had such a solid tenant.
But, things happen, and they even happen to good tenants. A lease break is inconvenient, but it isn’t the end of the world. Tenants can have a good reason for needing to break the lease. They might be struggling with a job loss, a health issue, a divorce, or a financial disaster.
The best thing you can do is work with your tenants to ensure a smooth transition. You want to protect the relationship and more importantly – your property. There will be some costs that you have to absorb, and that’s frustrating. But, if you can act quickly and work with your cooperative tenant, you might come out of this in a good place.
Communicate Clearly with your Departing Orlando Tenant
As you work through this transition, you’re going to need open communication with your tenant. Transparency and accountability will be critical, especially if you want to move forward without any hard feelings or excessive financial loss.
Talk to your tenant about the details of their move. You’ll need to know how long they expect to be in the home so you can begin to prepare your marketing and make plans to have the property turned around quickly. You want to work out a situation that will help both you and your tenant.
If you have a strong lease agreement in place, your tenant will be responsible for following that lease and paying rent until the end of the term. Depending on the situation, that might not be realistic. While your tenant may be legally responsible for the remaining rent that’s due in the lease agreement, there’s no guarantee that they’ll pay it. Find out what they can contribute and discuss how they can help you find a new tenant to mitigate your own loss.
Finding a Temporary Tenant for your Orlando Rental
Give your tenants the opportunity to find someone to take their place until the end of the lease so you don’t have a vacancy concern. If someone takes over the current tenant’s lease, you can still collect the same rental amount until that lease period ends. Your tenant might have someone in mind already, or maybe together you can advertise for a resident who is interested in finishing out the lease term.
When you’re able to work together with your tenant to find someone else to move in, you’re saving your tenant the cost of paying out the lease term, and you’re saving yourself the time and money it takes to find a new tenant. Everyone wins.
If you have any questions regarding how to handle a tenant who breaks the lease, please contact us at Park Avenue Property Management. Every situation is different, and we’d be happy to talk about how to move forward with your current tenants.