Um... that's the purpose of the early termination fee. To have you covered when it takes a month or two to replace the tenant. It's not there to punish the tenant, it is there to make you whole when they break the lease.

OHLL,

Are used to live in Cleveland so I know what winters are like up there.

It is time to adjust your thinking. The rental season is 364 days a year. (I don't work on Christmas day). We rent houses you're around, every day of the year.

Sure it slows down a little bit around the holidays but it does not stop. Remember people are still moving. There are many people moving for new jobs that start January 1. People are splitting up. People are moving in together. People are having babies and want more space. People want a new home for the holidays, some thing where they can entertain family. Life goes on even when it's chilly outside.

I am located at ground zero of the snow belt. The folks up in Watertown NY might be a little worse off than me, but not every year.

ETF is a win win for the landlord and the tenant. If the tenant desires freedom the ETF provides that for them. It also gives you a two month hedge to ride out that rough spot that you can occasionally have from about mid December to end of January.

There ARE good renters out there who find for various reasons that they need to move in the dead of winter. I have a current, nearly 8-year resident who viewed the property on December 23rd, qualified and paid on the 26th, and took keys on Jan. 1. And then did not move in until late January, as his other place 2 hours away was taken through the end of Jan, and the weather was stormy and snowy for the first half of the month.

I suppose you could write the ETF into your lease and only allow it during certain month. Everything is negotiable. If you want to say, "Early Termination Fee can only be used to end the lease without penalty between the months of April and September"... I mean it's just like any other terms in a contract. If everyone agrees to it and there is no contradiction with local / state laws, then by all means...

But as others have said, if they want to move, they WILL move. How confident are you that if someone moves out they would continue to pay rent until you find a new tenant? Even in the best times, I've rarely found a tenant who could afford rent on two places for an extended period. That's what taking the ETF during the off season does: it assumes you think you'd be better off trying to get rent out of a tenant who has left for the 3-4 months it would take to re-rent during the dead season.

As Brad says, you should be able to rent all year round. We do too. I've got several "lease anniversaries" in Dec, Jan, and Feb. People move when they're ready once the streets are clear of snow. I'd keep the ETF available year round. Just charge 2 months of rent (or whatever) and that should reduce your loss and maybe even compensate you extra for the hassle.

Ugg. You jinxd me, OHLL.

One of my good tenants gave notice today. I changed them from a lease to month to month because I was worried about his source of income (commission) and figured it would be the easiest way to get him out if his job crapped out on him. So, all they do is give 30 day notice and off they go. I don't get the ETF that is in my leases because I took them off the lease.