Tenant wants to void lease after signing and paying

You don’t give a location, so all I can really say is call your loca LTB office, and see what they say.

How long ago did the tenant sign the lease with you?

C

I would keep the 2 months. And be willing to tear up the agreement.

Work with her and find a new tenant, it’s really up to you how lenient you want to be because you don’t have to. Personally, I would work with her, but I would not give a refund for months that she tied up the space since you lost out on money those months.

I would find a new tenant for Oct 1st but if you can't keep trying until you do. Then give back whatever portion the unit sat vacant. The **** they gonna do? Take you to LTB? It will get thrown out...

Sensible thing would be to get an agreement signed to the effect that the previous signed lease is now void and if someone suitable is found for Oct 1st they would get a full refund. If a new tenant is found later a prorated refund will be given. You don’t want the other lease out there in existence such that they could show up Oct 1st if they changed their mind trying to move in.

Thank you all. This is in Toronto and I called LTB but they said they only advise on issues once tenant moves in and cant advise on this. I have reposted the apartment and will try to rent for October 1st but i wasnt sure if I would be allowed to pro-rate any portion of what she gave if I dont find anybody for October 1st. I am not looking to keep her money just want to find another suitable tenant and not lose out in another month of rent.

mrssmith2020 wrote: ↑ Thank you all. This is in Toronto and I called LTB but they said they only advise on issues once tenant moves in and cant advise on this. I have reposted the apartment and will try to rent for October 1st but i wasnt sure if I would be allowed to pro-rate any portion of what she gave if I dont find anybody for October 1st. I am not looking to keep her money just want to find another suitable tenant and not lose out in another month of rent.

Yes you are legally allowed to pro-rate the funds you return, based on when you can find a new tenant to move in and how many days after Oct 1 the unit sits vacant. You can also add in fees/expenses for you to re-list and market the unit, do background/credit checks to screen potential renters, etc and deduct this from the funds returned.

You have a legal obligation to try and re-rent the unit as quickly as possible to mitigate damages, but technically if can't find a new renter by Dec 1 you can then continue to bill the old renter indefinitely until you get the unit occupied. Through you would probably have to sue them for anything beyond the 2 months you already have and is probably not worth it.