Canceling rental will cost landlord

Q: I'm in a bit of a bind. I own a unique, lovely duplex (we live upstairs) that I easily rented in our town of few rentals and high demand. I signed a one-year lease with the new tenants, then learned that my daughter and her husband lost their jobs and need to move. I want to offer them this unit rent-free, and I'm prepared to pay the new tenants what it takes to find another unit, and even any additional rent for a comparable place. But they insist that they have the right to move in, because "a lease is a lease." Can they force me to go through with the lease? --Arnold S.

A: Your tenants' starting point is really, "a lease is a contract." You're announcing that you don't intend to honor the contract, and the legal question becomes, what is your tenants' remedy?

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