Property Management-Canoga Park
Canoga Park Property Management
Chatsworth, Tarzana
Winnetka
Unpaid Rent and Tenants with Leases
Tenants who leave before the expiration of a fixed-term lease (whether or not they notify the landlord that they’re leaving) and refuse to pay the remainder of the rent due under the lease are said to have “broken the lease.” This means the tenant is liable for the rent for the entire lease term (except where the landlord breaches an important lease provision first). However, the tenant’s responsibility for paying all rent still due under the lease when he or she leaves early is limited in most states by the landlord’s duty to “mitigate damages.” Stated in plain English, the landlord has a legal duty to try to find a new tenant as soon as reasonably possible to limit the financial loss.
What all this adds up to is that a landlord whose tenant breaks a lease with no good reason is entitled to:
- the remaining rent due under the lease, minus
- any portion of that amount that the landlord can reasonably obtain by rerenting the unit, plus
- any reasonable advertising expenses incurred in finding a new tenant, plus
- charges for necessary repair and cleaning after the tenant moves out.
A landlord can deduct the total cost of these items from the tenant’s security deposit (see “Security Deposit Cases,” above) and sue for the remainder in small claims court.
Carnahan Property Management services Woodland Hills,West Hills, Calabasas, Canoga Park, Tarzana, Reseda, Topanga, Encino, Northridge, Van Nuys,North Hills,Chatsworth, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, North Hollywood, West Hollywood, San Fernando, Granada Hills, Mission Hills, Simi Valley, West Lake Village, Agoura,Toluca Lake, Valley Village, Burbank
