Should You Try to Make It Easy for the Tenant to Leave Voluntarily?

Often yes. When a tenancy has gone wrong, a signed agreement in which the tenant agrees to move out by a set date, sometimes in exchange for a payment known as "cash for keys," can get the unit back sooner and with less risk than an eviction. Put the deal in writing and follow local buyout laws where they apply, such as those in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

When does an agreement make more sense than an eviction?

An eviction is a court case with several required steps, and if the tenant has stopped paying, each month it runs is a month of lost rent. In California, for example, you first serve a notice (3 days to pay rent or fix a lease violation, not counting weekends and court holidays). Then you file a lawsuit, and the tenant has 10 court days to respond after being handed the papers, or 10 calendar days plus 10 court days if served another way. If the tenant files a response, the case goes to trial, and only after you win can the sheriff enforce the judgment.

Compare that with what an agreement costs. Suppose rent is $2,000 a month and you expect an eviction to take 3 months to recover the unit: that is $6,000 in rent you likely will not collect, before filing and attorney's fees. Paying the tenant $2,000 to be out in 30 days costs $2,000 plus one month of unpaid rent, or $4,000 in total, and the unit is back in your hands two months sooner.

An agreement is most likely to work when:

• The tenant also wants out, for example because they cannot afford the rent or have found another place.
• Your grounds are solid but slow to prove, such as repeated lease violations that need witnesses.
• The tenant wants to avoid an eviction record. The California courts' self-help guide notes that a tenant who settles and follows the agreement can avoid an eviction judgment on their record.

If the tenant refuses or stops responding, go ahead with the notice your state requires; see the steps for eviction proceedings.

What should the move-out agreement cover?

Write it as a mutual termination of the lease, signed by you and every adult on the lease. Include:

1. The end date. The tenancy ends by mutual agreement on a specific date and time, and all occupants and belongings will be out by then.
2. Rent through move-out. State whether rent for the remaining days is paid, reduced, or waived, and whether any past-due rent is forgiven.
3. The unit's condition. For example, broom-clean with all personal property and trash removed, with a walk-through at handover.
4. The security deposit. Whether it will be returned in full, or with which deductions, within your state's deadline.
5. The payment. The amount, the method, and that it is paid only when the keys are returned and the walk-through confirms the unit is empty.
6. Belongings left behind. That anything left will be handled under your state's abandoned property rules.
7. Releases. If both sides agree, a statement that the agreement settles named claims, such as unpaid rent or damage.
8. What happens if the tenant does not leave. The payment is not owed, and you may proceed with an eviction.

Hand over the payment as a check or other traceable payment at the walk-through, in exchange for every key and access device. If an eviction case is already on file, settle it through the court process instead; see how to negotiate a settlement with a tenant. For the handover itself, follow the procedure for moving out.

Do local buyout rules apply to your offer?

Some cities regulate payments to tenants to give up a rent-controlled unit. Two large examples:

In Los Angeles, an agreement that does not meet these rules can be canceled by the tenant at any time. In San Francisco, specified agreement defects, such as missing required statements or tenant initials, let the tenant cancel at any time under Section 37.9E(f). Missing the filing deadline under subsection (h) lets the tenant void provisions waiving rights or releasing claims, without automatically canceling the entire agreement. San Francisco's rules do not treat an agreement settling a pending eviction lawsuit as a buyout agreement. Los Angeles also requires the offer to follow its tenant anti-harassment ordinance, which bars pressuring a tenant with threats or by withholding repairs, and misleading a tenant into thinking they must move. If your unit is in another city with rent control, check that city's rent board before making any offer.

What mistakes can hurt a later eviction?

• Accepting rent while you negotiate. In Florida, a landlord who accepts full rent for the period knowing of a tenant's violation waives the right to end the tenancy for that violation, though not for a later or continuing one. Accepting partial rent does not waive that right. If you accept partial rent after posting a nonpayment notice, you must either give the tenant a receipt showing the payment date and amount plus the agreed date and balance due before filing for possession, deposit the partial payment with the court when filing, or post a new 3-day notice for the remaining amount. Check your state's rule before taking a payment after a notice.
• Relying on a spoken promise. Without a signed agreement, you have no record of the end date the tenant agreed to.
• Paying before you have possession. Money paid up front leaves you nothing to withhold if the tenant does not leave on time.
• Taking matters into your own hands if the tenant stays. A missed move-out date does not let you change the locks, remove doors or belongings, or shut off utilities. In California, a landlord who does any of these to force a tenant out owes the tenant's actual damages plus up to $100 for each day of the violation, with at least $250 for each separate cause of action, and the winning side's attorney's fees (Cal. Civ. Code 789.3). File for eviction instead; doing an eviction yourself explains what a landlord can handle without a lawyer.

For how a voluntary move-out compares with the other ways to end a tenancy, see general ways to end a tenancy agreement.