Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/02/2008 - 03:05
Posted in
A tenant wants to break a lease early, and has offered to give as a settlement, 2 months rent. The lease does not have an early termination clause, so technicaly, the tenant is on the hook for the entire term of the lease.
Should I accept or sue the tenant for the rent due for remainder of lease term (>6 months)? What is the process in MA for recovering lost rent, and how hard/easy is it, if the tenant has no income, and leaves the state?
Editor's Response
If I were you, I would think about taking the 2 month's rent. Massachusetts law requires you to make reasonable efforts to find a new tenant even when the old tenant breaks the lease. So, it is not as simple as just collecting the six month's rent from the old tenant. Also, as you point out in your question, you have no way of knowing whether you can actually collect the rent from your old tenant (does he/she have assets, will she leave the state???).