Suing for the remainder of the lease

[nickjames]

What is the name of your state? Texas

A tenant of mine abandoned his lease with two years left. I understand that a landlord has a duty to mitigate and should try to re-lease as soon as possible. So does that mean that I can sue for the full amount of the remaining two years? Or do I have to wait for each unleased month to pass before I can sue? Assuming I can sue for the remainder of the lease, would this tenant be obligated to pay the whole judgment and then be reimbursed should I re-lease the premises?

 

[moburkes]

You start by placing ads, so that you can get income to hlep pay your bills. You will be required to show that you have made good faith efforts to re-rent the property, and a sign in front of the building on the lawn, or in the window, usually isn't enough. In my opinion, you don't sue the tenant until you have tried, in good faith, to rent the property for a few months. Is this residential or commercial?

And by the way, if you sue and get a judgment in your favor, what makes you believe that you will receive money from the tenant that skipped out on their lease?

 

[nickjames]

You are absolutely right, it is very unlikely that I would collect on the judgment. This is a commercial property by the way. I just wanted to know if legally I have standing to immediately commence a lawsuit for the full amount. Would the judge say that he will hold off on ruling and see what happens with the re-leasing or will he grant the judgment for the full amount?

 

[moburkes]

I don't know the answer, but hopefully someone will come along who does. I would spend my time concentrating on getting the propery re-rented vs. spending money on a (probably) dead-end lawsuit. That doesn't make sense to me why it is so important when you have a property that needs to be rented NOW.