Bornstein Law is the Bay Area’s foremost practitioner in effectuating tenant buyout agreements that are ethical, legal, and in full compliance with the many procedural requirements that govern these types of voluntary move-outs.
When there are no other legal or convenient means to evict, the landlord and tenant can enter into an agreement whereby the renter agrees to voluntarily vacate the premises.
More than “cash for keys,” a tenant buyout agreement removes all legal claims that may arise from the tenancy. For example, a tenant in an unwarranted in-law unit cannot sue the landlord for having collected the rent. Or, if a tenant later alleges that he or she developed a respiratory illness because of a mold infestation, they will have no legal grounds to assert this claim.
In rent-controlled jurisdictions, a tenant buyout agreement may be the only vehicle a landlord can use to effectuate a vacancy.
Although there are many stringent federal, state, and local tenant protections in place, there is no law or government edict that prevents both parties to enter into a “meeting of the minds” - a private contract that says the tenant will leave at their own volition in exchange for compensation, a rent waiver, return of the security deposit, or any combination of incentives.
We understand that a voluntary vacancy is huge. Traditionally, rents can be raised to market rate when the tenant is no longer in occupancy. We also know that a vacant building will sell for more than a tenant-occupied building.
Daniel Bornstein delved deeper into tenant buyout agreements in an earlier webinar.
