Tentant has signed contract but wants to pull out
- Thread starter menty
- Start date
You should be entitled to all that you are entitled to in any break lease situation.
When were they supposed to move in?
I had this happen once. We didn't take anything, simply re-advertised and found another tenant the next day. The lady who signed, had recently separated, signed a lease with us, realised her furniture would not fit and called us crying and really quite upset about having jumped too soon.
Call me a softy, but no way was I going to take anything from her in the circumstances. We didn't lose anything except a couple of hours where we had a signed lease.
If your tenants have simply changed their mind, found something better or something, and you will lose money on it, then I would think you are within your rights to treat it as any break lease. Have you lodged the bond?
When were they supposed to move in?
I had this happen once. We didn't take anything, simply re-advertised and found another tenant the next day. The lady who signed, had recently separated, signed a lease with us, realised her furniture would not fit and called us crying and really quite upset about having jumped too soon.
Call me a softy, but no way was I going to take anything from her in the circumstances. We didn't lose anything except a couple of hours where we had a signed lease.
If your tenants have simply changed their mind, found something better or something, and you will lose money on it, then I would think you are within your rights to treat it as any break lease. Have you lodged the bond?
I like to think of myself as compassionate. Different circumstances would have possibly led to a different attitude to the break-lease, but in this case we ripped up the contract about two hours after it was signed.
She was the only taker that day, and I would have been really annoyed had we lost any other prospective tenants (but we would have had their phone numbers to call them). In this particular case, she was the only taker. I suppose we could have held her to the lease, taken a week's rent or two if it took us that long to find another tenant. But would that have been fair? I don't think so. Legally yes... but morally?
No way would I have felt comfortable charging this woman a week's rent in the circumstances, even if we had had to wait another week to find another tenant. If that makes me a softy, so be it
I like to think of myself as compassionate. Different circumstances would have possibly led to a different attitude to the break-lease, but in this case we ripped up the contract about two hours after it was signed.
No way would I have felt comfortable charging this woman a week's rent in the circumstances, even if we had had to wait another week to find another tenant. If that makes me a softy, so be it
I used to think of myself that way once too.
We have almost without exception been proven wrong everytime we believe the tenant's story...and we've heard a lot.
I have 2 sayings I live by, as a landlord:
1. A tenant is there only at my convenience. When they are no longer convenient, they are no longer kept.
2. How do you know when a tenant is lying? Their lips are moving.
Yes, After 6 years, I finally got jaded.
That is when it turned into a business for me.
All the fuzzy feelings I got from being able to offer a tenant a safe place to live is gone.
Our properties are always safe, but it is protect our interests.
Now when I look at a tenant, I just try to figure out when they are going to do the midnight run, and how much mess and damage they will leave behind.
Chances are a tenant has been accepted at the place that was their first rental choice.
They never give a second thought of their obligations, just the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to get out of them.
Wylie,
Did you get her lease back?
Just because you ripped up yours, and if she had changed her mind, and you rerented the property, you may have encountered a whole host of problems.
When is she due to move in? When did she sign the lease? Has she paid a bond? Why did she sign initially?
She is likely to be up for the rent until a replacement tenant is found. In the case I mentioned above, it was only about an hour after signing that this lady called me in tears. I had lost nothing, and felt like I would have been taking advantage of her had we taken anything from her.
Had she waited a week (which would have meant we lost minimum of a week's rent) before calling us I would have been less tolerant of her situation.
Is it through an agent? They may be able to find another tenant quickly and minimise any loss for your friend. Either that or tell her to move in and try to find a replacement whilst living there, though it will cost more to move twice than to possibly lose a week or two of her bond.
She is likely to be up for the rent until a replacement tenant is found. In the case I mentioned above, it was only about an hour after signing that this lady called me in tears. I had lost nothing, and felt like I would have been taking advantage of her had we taken anything from her.
Had she waited a week (which would have meant we lost minimum of a week's rent) before calling us I would have been less tolerant of her situation.
Is it through an agent? They may be able to find another tenant quickly and minimise any loss for your friend. Either that or tell her to move in and try to find a replacement whilst living there, though it will cost more to move twice than to possibly lose a week or two of her bond.
Kathryn, I have had one or more IPs for over 30 years, and had less than a handful of problem tenants. Perhaps the type of tenants you have are very different to the type I have, and perhaps that shapes our perception.
To say that a tenant is lying when their lips move is just disappointing.
In this case, I say it is a case of having to wear the loss, but the poster's friend can try to minimise that loss by either finding a replacement tenant herself (will still have to pass muster for the PM and landlord), hoping the PM can find a replacement tenant quickly in which case she will lose a week or more plus advertising costs, or move in and see out the lease. That way she loses nothing.
To say that a tenant is lying when their lips move is just disappointing.
In this case, I say it is a case of having to wear the loss, but the poster's friend can try to minimise that loss by either finding a replacement tenant herself (will still have to pass muster for the PM and landlord), hoping the PM can find a replacement tenant quickly in which case she will lose a week or more plus advertising costs, or move in and see out the lease. That way she loses nothing.
Menty's friend "is" the tenant.
Did she not inspect the place before signing - or, at least have someone do it for her?
I'm sorry but in my books, just because a tenant "changes their mind" does not mean I should be out of pocket of potentially a month's mortgage payments.
If the landlord applies to the letter then your friend would be up for a reletting fee if thru a PM, advertising, rent until the house is relet at the "same" rent she signed for, if house is rented for less than she signed for due to market conditions then she is up for the "difference" for the period of her lease.
If there were extunuating circumstances, as Wylie said, and there was minimal cost to me, and the property was quickly relet, then I'd have no problems ... but most landlords are ordinary mums and dad, with mortgages/rates/managment fees/utilities to pay on the property, and they rely on the rent to cover some/all of these costs.
Yes it is very disappointing to have lying tenants, I agree.
Some of our tenants are great, but I don't remember them for as long.
You didn't answer my question ..not that you required to.
While I'm fairly right of centre in my political and social beliefs I think taking the morally palatable position is sometimes preferable in many business dealings including the letting of property. Obviously depending on the circumstances.
Without wanting to generalise I think some of us landlords often forget that tenants are our customers without whom we wouldn't survive in this game.
It's often too easy to point to relevant clauses in contracts threatening to sue rather than to adopt a more humanitarian perspective on things when it's warranted. I live by the rule that what goes around often comes around..
Well done Wylie.
Without wanting to generalise I think some of us landlords often forget that tenants are our customers without whom we wouldn't survive in this game.
It's often too easy to point to relevant clauses in contracts threatening to sue rather than to adopt a more humanitarian perspective on things when it's warranted. I live by the rule that what goes around often comes around..
Well done Wylie.
putting the fact that the proposed tenant is a friend,
some people have no hesitation in lying for their own benefit,
Admittedly, when I recently went to return an item from the shop which I simply changed my mind a few hours later (this shop has a refund policy which includes change of mind) I told a white lie and said that it was for a gift and was no longer needed.
if you werent out of pocket or turned other applications away then Id let it slip being a friend, however, as some have mentioned, just because you werent out of pocket shouldnt be the determining factor as to charge a fee or not
You can't get out of mobile phone contracts for simple change of mind,
you can't say to a bank, don't charge me my first months repayments because the bank made a billion $ last year or they don't lose anything,
There are consequences in every action in life, part of living as an adult in this world, is to deal with these consequences
Id keep as much of what I was entitled to that I deemed to be fair and reasonable unless it was extreme circumstances that were true such as partner dying
some people have no hesitation in lying for their own benefit,
Admittedly, when I recently went to return an item from the shop which I simply changed my mind a few hours later (this shop has a refund policy which includes change of mind) I told a white lie and said that it was for a gift and was no longer needed.
if you werent out of pocket or turned other applications away then Id let it slip being a friend, however, as some have mentioned, just because you werent out of pocket shouldnt be the determining factor as to charge a fee or not
You can't get out of mobile phone contracts for simple change of mind,
you can't say to a bank, don't charge me my first months repayments because the bank made a billion $ last year or they don't lose anything,
There are consequences in every action in life, part of living as an adult in this world, is to deal with these consequences
Id keep as much of what I was entitled to that I deemed to be fair and reasonable unless it was extreme circumstances that were true such as partner dying
You appear to be ignoring the fact that the tenant in question is not the customer at all, they are a PITA and they also had no care or "humanitarian perspective" whatsoever for the LL position or their financial inconvenience.
Like you said, what goes around comes around so look out tenant.
I'd ask them to be in your shoes for a moment.....
As Lizzie said. Compensation until a new tenant is found.
Watch out for tenants who are ventriloquists. They can be really tricky.
yes, the big bad ol' world we live in AIN'T FAIR
it's always surprsing finding out something new isn't it
If it's not gonna be fair..get even
I thought you already knew the world ain't fair?
I did... that's why I don't go around asking questions I know the answer to like:
Originally Posted by kathryn d
I wonder what a tenants reaction would be to "I don't want you to move in, I got a better application today" and then maybe add a few tears...
