Legal Question in Real Estate Law in North Carolina
Our tenant broke his lease using the clause in our rental agreement (pay remaining months on contract and 20% of one months rent). His wife (she did not enter into the lease agreement with us, she is only listed as an authorized occupant) has filed a small claims suit against us wanting the money back since we moved back into the home a few weeks after they broke the lease. Thoughts?
1 Answer from Attorneys
I suggest hiring an attorney. But, if she was not a party to the lease, you should argue that she was not a party to the contract and does not have "standing" to bring the lawsuit.
The issue is that liquidation damage clauses in leases are upheld if they are reasonable. The one you have may seem to be a bit extreme depending on the circumstances i.e. amount of rent, amount of time left on the lease, did you re-rent the home, ect.
The typical rule, even without your clause is that tenants are liable for the rest of the contract term until the property is re-rented. The fact that you moved in. may be treated by some Courts as the same thing.
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