Welcome to landlording! :biggrin
Leases mean absolutely nothing (effectively or legally) to tenants. They can break them on a whim. Courts won’t uphold them in a landlord’s favor.
There’s so many reason(s) to break a lease; death, disease, divorce, etc. You name it, and courts are sympathetic.
Landlords, not so much.
Technically, you have a lease. Effectively, you do not.
So, to cut to the chase …acknowledge the tenant’s evacuation notice, and affirm her move-out date.
Once you’ve got the move-out date established, you begin planning to bring the unit back to marketable condition.
Tenants breaking leases, pretty much gives you the advantage in justifying any repairs/cleaning/restoration as “abnormal” wear and tear.
Anything you would have to do, should be considered premature, as the habitability and marketability of the unit “should” last for at least the first term of the lease.
If the tenant is not just looking to become a deadbeat, you should just treat this like a normal tenant turnover. Again, confirm the move-out date; insist the date be adhered to; do a move-out inspection upon the tenant’s evacuation; return the balance of the deposit not spent to make the unit marketable; and in the meantime re-rent the unit.
Next time, get the maximum deposit allowed by law (if the market allows this), so that you have more leverage over the next lease-breaker.
I would follow the standard provisions in my lease, regarding tenant evacuations.
I don’t see any need to make extra deals with the evacuating tenants. Just get a confirmation on the evac. date, and pro-rate any rents owed, through that date (if it’s not the last day of the month).
I know in some states, you can’t legally deduct rents from deposits. So, if the tenant leaves owing rent, and there’s enough left over in the deposit to cover the rents owed, just adjust the stated management/maintenance/overhead costs to compensate.
This situation should be an example of why it’s a good idea to incorporate specific terms into your lease agreements, regarding early terminations.
Hope this helps.
P.S. If the tenant morphs more into a snake-bite, I would just offer her ‘cash for keys’, if she agrees to be out by ‘x’ date (and the place is clean).
Whether the place is clean, or not, isn’t the point. It’s regaining possession of the unit, without having to go to court; without having to appeal to a judge for back rents; without putting the debts to collection; and without futilely attempting to garnish wages, tap tills, and otherwise spin my wheels trying to redeem my crappy selection of a tenant.