Q: My wife and I are representing our son who is currently unable to manage his affairs.
He requested for us to terminate his lease and move him out.
Landlord stated we needed a POA. Our son has not been able to issue us a POA.
We have access to his portal at the landlords website, and paid his rent through their portal.
Is a POA mandatory to terminate our sons lease for him?
A: The landlord has a right to insist upon proof of authority if someone else wants to terminate your son's lease. I am unclear as to his status, but presumably he originally signed the lease. If he has capacity to sign his name still, and understands what he is doing (which seems likely if he is requesting that you terminate the lease), then you can just draft the letter for him to sign and serve on the landlord. Or you can go the POA route if you wish - it, of course, may be helpful in other future situations. Or if things are anticipated to be relatively permanent, it may be that having a court appoint you as his Guardian and/or Conservator makes sense. All this said, I am unclear what the landlord thinks he is going to do. If your son simply moves out and breaks his lease, he may owe an early termination penalty under the terms of the lease (or be liable for continuing rent and costs until it is re-rented) but that would be the same whether he provides notice or you do...unless he is on a month to month tenancy. Then 30 days prior written notice from the tenant is required. Technically, he could sign using an "X" and have it witnessed. Rarely done anymore these days but still lawful. Of course if he can't sign his name for any reason, then you are not likely to be able to produce a valid Power of Attorney either. Good luck.
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