Several questions about move out/deposit refund : ezLandlordForms

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Zachary K

started a topic about 11 years ago

We have a tenant who is now requesting to break her lease a year and a half early because she is getting married (not sure why this is grounds for breaking the lease). We are being obliging and told her that she will be afforded 30 days notice once new tenants have been secured into a new lease, until then she is responsible for the monthly rent. Is this correct to do? Do we HAVE to let her out of her lease? My only concern is that she wants to be out by July and we won't have new tenants by then. Another question, she has cats that have damaged the carpet (pulled up the corner and frayed it so badly near one door that the carpet will need to be repaired by a carpet company from what we are being told) and she sent us an email asking if we can put some sort of door stop across the carpet seams between the two rooms and that she attempted to hide the loose frays from her cats, but they kept moving the 'rug' she placed there. Is this damage she will be responsible for out of her deposit? We stupidly did not receive a pet deposit from her. We have the email trail from her that flat out states her cats caused the damage and our property manager went to Lowe's to ask for advice, showed pictures of the damage and that is when they referred her to a carpet company. She also complains constantly about the most random things (half of them don't appear to be an issue when inspected). One being mold? Isn't there a law in Ohio that the tenant is responsible for occasionally ventilating and cleaning to prevent mold? She asked for someone to come over, strip the caulking and replace it! This was done prior to her move in a year and a half earlier! Lastly, she stated that the heater wasn't working so we sent a technician out and paid the fee, yet he came to find that she had turned off some switch that prevented it from running. Can we keep the charge for the fee out of the deposit as well since it was manually switched off and not a home issue? We are really frustrated with everything and just need advice! We are a military family who has had to settle for renting out our home because we were moved overseas and want to make sure our home is taken care of, but at the same time, we want to make sure we are following the Ohio renting laws. Thank you for your help!

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Karen S

said about 11 years ago

It seems almost like a blessing to have a new tenant. I would def charge her for the carpet fee, since that was due to her cats. A security deposit is used for that type of damage.

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Christian S

said about 11 years ago

The carpet thing seems obvious - yes, you should deduct that repair cost from her deposit. You don't HAVE to let her out of her lease due to her allegedly getting married but I don't see a problem with trying to work with her a little. I think you went beyond what you need to do by telling her you'd give her 30-days notice when you secure a new tenant. Thing is, you need the place to be empty so you can repair it back up to par before the new tenants come in. Does your lease indicate a lease breaking fee? Be careful of the mold issue. She can cause you some headache with that. In your lease, there should be a section that says something like "tenant must use ventilation fan..." Finally, for the self inflicted heater issue I think you should charge her for the service visit if you have documentation from the tech that she did it herself. I have a friend who had a tenant urinate on the pilot light for their heater and, yes, the tenant ended up paying for the service visit. In my lease, it indicates that the tenant is responsible for maintenance of those types of things. I mean, it's a house and they need to take responsibility for the normal stuff that happens. Good luck.