How Do I Prevent a Tenant From Terminating a Lease Early?
Full Question:
Answer:
Unless lease terms provide for early termination, or the landlord has failed to uphold obligation on the landlord's part, a tenant may be held liable for rent for the full term of the lease if the tenant terminates the lease early.
Please see the following TN statutes:
66-7-101. Writing required for long term leases — Authentication and
registration.
Leases for more than three (3) years shall be in writing, and, to be
valid against any person other than the lessor, the lessor's heirs and
devisees, and persons having actual notice thereof, shall be proved and
registered as provided in chapters 22-24 of this title.
66-7-108. Commercial lease disclosure statement — Remedies for
misrepresentation.
(a) At the request of a prospective tenant, the owner of commercial or
industrial real property where the commercial property space is one
thousand five hundred square feet (1,500 sq. ft.) or less, and the
industrial real property is five thousand square feet (5,000 sq. ft.) or
less, shall furnish to such prospective tenant a signed disclosure
statement detailing the extent to which such real property is understood
by the owner to be in compliance with local and state fire, plumbing, and
electrical codes for a building of the type under construction. If, at
the time such disclosure is made, an item of information required to be
disclosed is unknown or not available to the owner, the owner may state
that such information is unknown.
(b) If the owner knowingly misrepresents information required to be
disclosed by this section, the lessee's remedies, at the option of the
lessee, for such misrepresentation on the disclosure statement shall be
either:
(1) An action for actual damages suffered as a result of known defects
existing in the property as of the date of execution of the lease. Any
action brought under this subdivision (b)(1) shall be commenced within
one (1) year from the date the lessee received the disclosure statement
or the date of occupancy, whichever occurs first; or
(2) Termination of the lease.
(c) Nothing in this section shall affect other remedies at law or
equity otherwise available against an owner in the event of an owner's
intentional or willful misrepresentation of the condition of the subject
property.
