If a tenant abandons leased property, the landlord has no duty to mitigate damages by re-letting.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only if the lease is residential
• D. Only if there is no security deposit

Answer: (B)

In lease law, once a tenant abandons, the landlord must try to minimize losses by re-letting the premises. In New York, the duty to mitigate damages is recognized for both residential and commercial leases, and a security deposit does not relieve this obligation. This means the landlord should take reasonable steps to find a new tenant, advertise the space, show it to prospects, and rent it at a market rate. If the landlord fails to take these steps, the damages recoverable from the former tenant can be reduced by the amount that could have been avoided through reasonably diligent re-letting. So the statement that there is no duty to mitigate is incorrect.