Negotiating a lease buyout

Q: One of my tenants would like to get out of his yearlong lease, which has eight months left. I understand that he remains liable for the whole rent until I re-rent the unit, but he's approached me with a different proposition. He wants to negotiate a buyout, right now, so that he won't be left wondering how many months' worth of rent he'll be responsible for. Is there anything illegal about this? –Harry H.

A: Let's back up for a moment to your assumption that you have to re-rent and subtract the rent you receive from the new tenant from what your tenant owes on the lease. While many states do impose this requirement (called mitigation of damages), it's not true universally.

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