Is a rental lease deemed dissolved if 1 of 2 lessee vacates the property? But the other remains

[JoseTejera]

Is a rental lease deemed dissolved if 1 of 2 lessee vacates the property? But the other remains



I have a coupe that left and now I am left with 1 occupant with an existing lease with 6 months left.



Am I allowed to re-write a lease with a new $ figure? or I need to honor the existing lease?



Thank you,

 

[invst4profit]

It depends on the province the property is in.



In Ontario the person may remain but you can not force them to sign a new lease. You may ask and hopefully they will agree but are not required to agree to any changes in the lease. The old lease remains in place.

If the persons name is not on the lease you may apply to evict as a hold over (unauthorized occupant) within 30 days of having knowledge of the situation.



At the end of the lease it automatically becomes month to month with the tenant having all the rights and privileges as existed in the original lease.

 

[Sherilynn]

In Alberta the lease remains in effect, and all parties on the lease are still responsible for costs whether or not they live there. So if the remaining tenant doesn't pay, you may file suit against all 3 (if you can find them).



Also in Alberta you can only increase rent once a year, so you could not increase the rent before 12 months has passed regardless of whether the remaining tenant signed a new lease.



If the remaining tenant wants to bring in roommates, I always insist that they complete an application so that I may check references, etc. I also rewrite the lease to include the new roommates so that they are now legally responsible as well. The term of the new lease would be for the remainder of the 12 months so that I could increase rent at lease renewal.