Joint lease

[Steve R]

Jurisdiction

Colorado

Hi,

I have a rental unit that has a lease that expires the end of June, 2017. I would like to renew the lease with one of the tenants and not the other due only to the fact that one tenant takes very good care of the unit, and the other does not. Are there any legal implications for me to sign a new lease for the one tenant and give the other tenant notice to vacate at the end of the current lease?

 

[ElleMD]

You are welcome to tell the one tenant that you will renew the lease only for him.

 

[adjusterjack]

Are there any legal implications for me to sign a new lease for the one tenant and give the other tenant notice to vacate at the end of the current lease?

Yes. There are "legal" implications, as well as practical.

1 - If the lease has been for one year or more, the CO statute requires that you give 3 months written notice that tenancy is terminated. See 13-40-107:

13-40-107.

That means you give written notice on April 1 for termination June 30.

2 - If you are holding a security deposit you will need to follow the security deposit law:

http://www.comptroltechnologies.com...atutes - Article 12 - Landlord and Tenant.pdf

I suggest you get a written agreement between the two tenants as to the disposition of the security deposit with regard to the departing tenant. The departing tenant is going to want his money and you'll want to get the remaining tenant to replace it.

3 - As a practical matter you will want to determine if the remaining tenant is financially capable of paying all of the rent by himself.

4 - Also, as a practical matter, you'll want to figure out what to do if the remaining tenant wants to replace the departing tenant with another roommate.

 

[army judge]

Hi,

I have a rental unit that has a lease that expires the end of June, 2017. I would like to renew the lease with one of the tenants and not the other due only to the fact that one tenant takes very good care of the unit, and the other does not. Are there any legal implications for me to sign a new lease for the one tenant and give the other tenant notice to vacate at the end of the current lease?

Here's the easiest way to address your problem.
Let's agree you're renting to Harry and Barry.
You want to continue to rent to Barry.
You no longer want to rent to Harry.

You inform your tenants according to your state's laws, that you no longer wish to rent to either of them as JOINT tenants.

If Barry wishes to rent alone, contact Barry to arrange a new lease effective July 1st.

If you do that, Barry will not have to vacate the property.

As far as the deposit, follow the guidance posted above to comply with the law.

In my view, when I rented properties, I only rented to joint tenants who were married.
There might be difficulty in some states in following my approach today, as I sold my properties many years ago.

At any rate, if you simply dissolve the current lease according to your state's laws, you are free to create a new lease with only one of the parties.