Landlord Quick Tip
Tip #235: Litigate, or Mitigate
Obviously, you want to go after the deadbeat and get what is owed to you. But your first order of business is not to litigate, it’s to mitigate.
Even with an iron-clad lease, in most cases, the landlord has a duty to mitigate the damages owed by that tenant. That means you need to do what you can to get the property back in service, and find a new tenant.
If you do bring legal action against the former tenant, you are probably going to have to show what steps you took to minimize the impact they had on your property before you get a judgment.
That’s why it’s important to act quickly, keep good records of your expenses, and be prepared to detail the steps you took to get that property back in action.
See last week’s Landlord Quick Tip.
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