1. Early Termination of Lease
If a tenant breaks their lease, the landlord can keep all or part of the security deposit necessary to cover the costs associated with this breach. Again it will depend on the wording of your lease and the particular landlord tenant laws in your state. If you have included an early termination clause in the lease the tenant signed, they will have to abide by these terms.
An early termination clause could read something like this, for example:
“If the tenant terminates the lease prior to the one year lease agreement or does not give 30 days notice prior to move out once the lease has gone month-to-month, the tenant is responsible for rent owed for the remainder of the lease. The landlord will deduct the amount owed from the tenant’s security deposit. If the security deposit does not include sufficient funds to cover the amount owed, the tenant is responsible for paying the additional money owed the landlord for the remainder of the lease.
or
The landlord will attempt to find a suitable replacement tenant. Since this vacancy has been caused by a breach of lease, the landlord is entitled to deduct the necessary costs incurred by this breach of lease from the tenant’s security deposit including the vacancy costs, as well as advertising and marketing costs necessary until a suitable replacement tenant is found to occupy the rental. If the security deposit does not include sufficient funds to cover the amount owed, the tenant is responsible for paying the additional money owed the landlord to cover these expenses for the remainder of the lease.” *
You may also be able to charge the tenant the court costs or attorney fees necessary if you have taken legal action against them.