Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Pennsylvania

I am a landlord, and my tenant has a 12 month rental agreement and she just up and moved out with no notice. After inspection, she has cigarette burns in the carpets- the lease states No smoking inside the house....Question is....can I hold her to the 12 month agreement and hold her for the expense to replace the carpeting?


Asked on 11/22/11, 9:32 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Solomon Law Office of Andrew A. Solomon

Yes. You can definitely hold the tenant responsible for the damages to the property. Second, you can hold her responsible for the remaining rentals due under the lease, but you have a duty to mitigate your damages. This means that you have an obligation to try and find a new tenant as quickly as possible. If you are successful in finding a new tenant, the old tenant would not be responsible for rent due after the new tenant moves in. Question--Is there a security deposit involved? If so, there are certain steps you must take to use the security deposit to fix the damages. Check out the PA Landlord-Tenant handbook which you can find with a Google search online.

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Answered on 11/28/11, 4:13 pm


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