Lease Term

Minimum lease term due to Condo rules is 4 months. All leases and tenants must be approved by Homeowners Assoc so lease written for 4 months. Landlord and Tenant agree to a 3 month term. Lease drawn up for 4 months to get approval from Assoc. I made tennant sign a letter saying they would vacate after 3 months, which was mutually agreed to and signed. Does the letter supercede the lease and change the term to 3 months instead of 4? Is it legally binding?

[OHlandlord]

So you now have a lease which says they will stay for 4 months and a signed letter which says they will stay for only 3? Were they signed at the same time and on the same day? If this is challenged by your tenant, it will be tricky to enforce this in court. You can't have a legal document (the lease) that says one term and then another letter signed that says a different term. They contradict each other and a court would probably find in favor of the tenant since the paperwork is unclear. (When there is doubt about terms of an agreement, the court usually finds for the party who did not write the document. The idea is that the writer of the document had the control in the terms. If unclear, it usually is ruled in favor of the other party.)

Additionally, if the HOA (or COA in this case) finds out that you are attempting to supercede their rules, you can be prohibited from renting out your unit at all. You must adhere and obey the rules of your association if you wish to continue to rent out your unit. I suggest you allow your tenant to leave when they want and hope the association doesn't catch on to what you were attempting to do.