I have a female resident that just moved in 2 weeks ago. I received a message that her boyfriend beat her up and and he is in jail. We changed the locks for her and she wanted to meet with me today. She showed up today and her face is badly bruised, swollen and her eye is almost shut. Now she wants out of her one year lease because she is moving back home with her parents.

My question is: what would you do?

1. Let her out of her lease with no penalty

2. Let her out of her lease but keeping the deposit

3. Keep the deposit and charge the ELT (early lease termination)

fee which is $1200

Thank you for any help with this.

depends,

was bf on the lease, did she sneak him in, where did he beat her up...your place?

In VA, we must allow someone out of a lease due to domestic violence. You need to check your state's laws.

I expect you would get a copy of the police report/restraining order.

Unless your laws allow a tenant to break a lease due to domestic violence, tell her you can begin advertising the rental unit and once a suitable replacement is found (and a lease is signed) she can be released from hers.

If she disagrees with this, then point out the ELT in your lease that she can advantage of.

Not your problem that she dates boyfriends that beat her up.

Interesting topic. I have such mixed feelings about this.

My inner compassionate side says let her go, and in not such a small way, so does my outer landlord. I think the point made above is a good one. Get the future, window breaking, drama out of your house. Then again, you will incur vacancy and repairs after such a short tenancy. I'm guessing she will be gone, either way. Maybe it's best if you just settle on the deposit and be done w it. idk

There is a better than average chance that after the initial anger is over, she will be right back w him. How would you feel, if after you accommodated her, you saw them walking down the street, hand in hand, next month? You may find your answer in that thought experiment.

I've learned my lessons with these type of tenants. In a few days the women will drop the charges on her man and let him back in the property because on her own you can't afford the rent. So every few months I'll get a call that I need to change the locks again.

So I found a remedy. The tenant must produce a police report or restraining order against her abuser in order for me to change the locks at NO COST to her.

Also here (California) we must allow the women to move out if she is a victim of domestic abuse.

Let her go: 1) start showing the place 2) get it rented 3) do your final Security Deposit Accounting and if there were damages, finalial or otherwise, charge against the deposit.

Yes, like several have mentioned, in Texas, they have protection under Texas law--

"Tenant may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving family violence or military deployment or transfer. Tenants may have special statutory rights to terminate the lease early in certain situations involving sexual assault or sexual abuse."

So we'd let them out without penalty.

I've never been on this side of domestic assault stuff, but I've rented to a few people who had expressed their intention of "starting over" and "leaving him behind". Of course, within a few days, she's letting him hang out at the house all over again... or within a month, she lets him move in without permission. It may or may not go well from there on, but usually, they're at the end of their budget, and if they don't move for drama reasons (as some do), they move for financial reasons. One, for example, had a great-paying job working for a prison when I let her move in, but about three months later, I run into her working the checkout counter at the dollar store. So instability in one part of their life often translates into instability in another part of their life.

I would not want her problem, my problem. I also would not want to make money off her problem. These situations tend to drag on and on and never end. I would not want damage to my place over it.

I would let her go as soon as she can, even prorate the rent if she leaves early. (return rent after month is paid) I would charge security deposit as I normally do, but try to make it clear if she leaves the place clean and ready to rent, she gets it back and you would love to be able to do that, otherwise you hire someone to do that with her deposit. Then rent on.

I always hope that these people can get out of the situation they are in. But so often they do not.

It is April 17. Tell her that if she can be out of the apartment by noon on Friday, leave it completely clean and move-in ready, you'll do everything you can to re-rent it ASAP. Get it posted on Friday afternoon, once you see she is out and it is clean.

If anything needs to be done, particularly since she just moved in, take it from the deposit.

If you find a new tenant by the end of the month, charge a re-rent fee that covers your extra time finding the new resident. If not, I'd say she should be responsible for the May rent.

Part of me wants to just charge the Early Lease Buy-Out fee that is in your syllabus.

In NC we have very specific laws regarding domestic violence victims and what we can and can't do. I suggest you look at your local laws regarding this. Most areas now have some in place.

Regardless of what the "law" says, I would be moving this type of tenant out as soon as legally possible and/or the smoke clears.

I would tell her that the deposit "accounting" will be returned in accordance with state law. Then mail it the day before the deadline if you are returning it or send her the accounting statement on the day before the deadline.

I always say "deposit accounting", not "deposit". Sometimes they don't get the deposit.

If she just bailed on me, I'd let her go asap with the thinking that she will get her "deposit accounting" back within the timeline allowed by the state.

I asked my attorney just to make sure and this is what she said,

"Iowa does not have a law in place that gives a domestic violence victim an early termination right so you are not obligated to let the tenant here out of her lease on that basis.

There are other laws that apply to domestic violence victims but those generally prohibit eviction of a domestic violence victim or provide a right to a domestic violence victim to retain possession of rental property rather than the perpetrator.

This is a pretty hot issue right now with 27 states now providing early lease termination for DV victims so we may see a change in the not too distant future, but for now Iowa has not passed any law of that kind."

With that in mind, I gave her some options and we agreed that she would forfeit the deposit.

Thank you for all of the help! I really appreciate it.

In Maine we have to allow them to break the lease. This is good for you. My brother has a domestic violence problem in his rental. There is a restraining order against the male for the woman. And the man has been back a few times. Lots of damage happening to his property while this is going on.

The woman received her court date from the Sheriff for the eviction. She called my brother and left a message on his cell phone threatening to kill him. My brother played the message for the cops and they filed a criminal threatening charge against her.