Duringer-Legal Corner | October 11, 2010
|
10 October 2010
A: The language is correct. Declaring a forfeiture of the lease does not relieve the tenants of their responsibility for the entire term. The legal concept of “declaring a forfeiture” means that in the event the tenant fails to pay the rent demanded during the three day notice period, then you would not be obligated to accept it after the notice expired.
In the event you didn’t declare a forfeiture on your notice, then the tenant would have the right to ‘cure’ the notice by paying the amount demanded after the three day notice expired, even up until five days following a trial in which judgment is entered in your favor.
Although you may want to accept payment even after trial, you would at the very least want the tenant to pay you for all the rent that was then due, plus late fees and any attorney fees and costs incurred.
By declaring a forfeiture of the lease, in the event the tenant fails to pay during the three day notice period, you can rightfully demand that prior to reinstating the tenancy, the tenant must pay all monies due, not just the amount demanded on the three day notice.
