I am a landlord and I need the tenant to forfeit his security deposit because he terminated the lease early …
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
I am a landlord and I need the tenant to forfeit his security deposit because he terminated the lease early …
It is not written in the contract but is there anyway I can do that in the state
of georgia.
Asked on June 9, 2016 under Real Estate Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
The landlord is allowed by the law to keep the security deposit for unpaid rent. That includes rent which will come due under the lease and for which the tenant is liable, but which the tenant will not pay because he or she breached the lease by terminating it early when not allowed to do so. (E.g. when there is no early termination clause in the lease.) Keep the money in the account until sufficient unpaid rent has accrued to "cover it" (e.g. if it's equal to one month of rent, keep it in the security deposit account until there's been a month unpaid); then you can release it to yourself.
But first, immediately, as soon as the tenant has terminated early, send the tenant a letter indicating that the amount they will owe for rent due to terminating early and state that the security deposit will be withheld for it. Send the letter to any forwarding address or, if you don't have one, to the last known address with instructions to please forward; also email or text a copy, if you have that contact information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.