Something that we get asked a lot about is what happens when I want to move back into my rental property, but my tenant is on a lease?

This can be a really tricky situation.  The black and white property manager answer to this question is – you can’t.  When a tenant is on a signed lease, this protects them from having to vacate during the fixed term of their lease – even if you sell the property or you want to move back in yourself.

Your best option here might be to have your property manager talk to your tenant about your situation, but you do need to remember that we can make no guarantees and your tenant would be within their rights to refuse this request.

Something that could also be considered at times like this, depending upon your circumstance, is that could ask your property manager to offer a sweetener to your tenant if they can vacate by a certain date prior to the end of their lease.  You might offer them some free rent or perhaps offer to pay for their end of lease clean, so that they don’t have this expense.  Again, this is just a suggestion and your tenant would be under no obligation to take you up on this.

I would recommend that you give your tenant end of lease termination as soon as you make the decision to do this, as this will then allow the tenant to vacate at any time prior to the end of the lease if they happen to find the perfect place to do this.

You can read more about termination notices here

If you wanted to discuss your own personal situation, or this blog brings up some questions for you, then please do not hesitate to give me a call at the office to discuss your circumstance.