Contractual Issues

• When a tenant gives up a rental property and vacates without paying rent, the landlord has the right to step in and take control of the property. By vacating without paying, the tenant has essentially broken the rental agreement and any claim to the property on a temporary basis. The landlord can then try to rent the property out again to a new tenant.
  
  

Mitigation

• The courts in many jurisdictions expect that landlords will protect their rental interest and try to rent vacated properties again within a reasonable time. In this respect, landlords are expected to mitigate their damages for unpaid rent. Thus, while a tenant may owe, for example, another two years on an agreement, if the landlord can find a new tenant six months later, then the allowable damages are the six months that went unpaid.
  
  

Legal Pursuit

• Since the old tenant has already left, the landlord cannot pursue rent per se. The correct legal action is a collection on a debt (the rent). The landlord has to establish in court a legal right to pursue assets of the old tenant for repayment of the debt. If he wins judgment, the landlord can seek repayment from asset seizure, garnishment, property lien or collections.
  
  

Costs Involved

• If the rent is a few hundred dollars, it may not be worth the time pursuing legal action. The cost just to file an initial legal complaint in some court jurisdictions can be $400 alone. By the time the judgment is won, the legal fees could amount to thousands of dollars, with no guarantee of collection once the old tenant is found again. In such small-amount cases, the landlord is better off focusing energy on getting the rental property rented again with a paying tenant.