Page 15 - August 2022

tenant. Under this option, the land- a “landlord is not required to simply avoided” However, a landlord’s failure
lord can recover the actual rental fill the premises with any willing to mitigate does not give rise to a
reduced by the amount to be received tenant; the replacement tenant must cause of action by a tenant.
from the new tenant; be suitable under the circumstances”.
4) Forfeiture: the landlord may A landlord’s failure to mitigate “Objectively Reasonable” Efforts
declare the lease forfeited. Under this damages will prevent recovery by a The duty to mitigate damages
option, the landlord relieved the tenant landlord “only to the extent that the requires that a landlord use “objectively
of liability for future rental payments. damages reasonably could have been reasonable” efforts to fill the leased

Landlord’s Most Powerful Remedy
Under Texas law, a landlord may
elect to treat the tenant’s default and
conduct as an anticipatory breach of
contract and repossess and retain the
leased premise for personal purposes
when a tenant breaches a lease
agreement by abandoning the leased
premises and failing to pay monthly EMPLOYER
rent. Speedee Mart, Inc. v. Stovall, 664 BENEFIT SERVICES
S.W.2d 174, 177 (Tex.App.–Amarillo
1983, no writ). Under this election,
the landlord is entitled to recover
the present value of all rentals that
accrue under the lease agreement, re-
duced by the reasonable cash market
value of the lease agreement for the
unexpired term. This long-standing
court decision held that the proper PLAN PAYROLL BENEFIT
calculation should be future rents ADMINISTRATION MANAGEMENT PACKAGE
from the time of the breach to the end Assistance and research Get your employees MARKETING
of the lease agreement reduced to its to keep you informed paid quickly so you Document
present value, and then further re- and in compliance with can get back to doing administration of
401(k) and 403(b)
duced by the reasonable cash market state and federal laws. what your company including employee
does best.
value of the lease agreement for the enrollment assistance.
unexpired term. This remedy is most
often found in the lease contract and
highly recommended when a tenant
commits an anticipatory breach.

Landlord’s Duty to Mitigate
Damages
In an action to recover damages
for a tenant’s anticipatory breach of
HUMAN
CLAIMS
BENEFITS
the lease, a landlord is required to MANAGEMENT RESOURCES EDUCATION AND
make reasonable efforts to mitigate CONSULTING CONSULTING
When a claim is
its damages when a tenant breaches made, we assist in the Develop policies and Cra a competitive

the lease and abandons the property. process, from the first procedures, address employee benefits plan
TEX. PROP.CODE ANN. §91.006 filing of the claim to its recruiting strategies, to recruit and retain
(Vernon 2007); See also Austin Hill resolution. develop job descriptions. valuable employees.
Country Realty, Inc. v. Palisades
Plaza, Inc., 948 S.W.2d 293, 299-300
(Tex.1997); See also Cole Chem. & PUTTING ALL THE HEALTHCARE
Distrib., Inc. v. Gowing, 228 S.W.3d BENEFIT PIECES TOGETHER
684, 687-88 (Tex.App.–Houston
[14 Dist.] 2005, no pet). Mitigation, OFFICE ONLINE
th
713-647-9700
www.corebenefits.net
however, is not an absolute duty. The
Texas Supreme Court has stated that
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