2012/01/05 10:54:02 AM Timstap Posts: 1	Please can someone give me some advise here. I had a tenant who signed a lease agreement as the begining of December, for occupation 1st January. He paid the full deposit and said he will pay January rental before he takes occupation. Because of this we stopped advertising the property. On the 30th December he phoned to say that he cannot take the place anymore and wants us to find another tenant, i did tell him that we will refund him his deposit if we can find another tenant for the 1st January (which obviously our chances were very slim) but we did imeditaly put the adverts back up. He is now demanding that we refund him is deposit or he will lay charges of theft agains us... What are my options here? my feeling is because he signed the lease and paid the deposit we were assured we had a tenant for the 1st January, but now we dont and have to sit for another month without rent income. If he had never signed the lease and paid the deposit, we would have kept our adverts up and properbly had another tenant for the 1st January. Can we not hold him to the lease until such time as we find another tenant to take the property? in which case write the deposit off against january rental? Thanks in advance.
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2012/01/28 12:19:18 AM Marc Lunau Posts: 175	I agree. I only stop marketing once lease is signed, deposit is paid and lease fee is paid if any. I had such a case once as well. I tried to get a new tenant ASAP, but it was vacant for a month. I had to keep the deposit and paid it to the owner. I heard never again from the tenant. Essentially it should be in the lease what will happen in such a case. It is a valid lease and tenant has to give notice as per the lease. If notice is 2m and you find a new tenant after 1m he is released one month early and saves one month rent in liability. Let him lay charges and even sue you. He has no legal leg to stand on in my view as he is in breach of not paying rent. its entirely his choice not to move in, but that does not release him of his obligations to stick to the lease. Let us know how it ended. -- Investor and Property Manager with value add solutions www.houses4rent.co.za
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