Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit

Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit by Debbie (California) on May 23, 2015 @17:20

I have a long term tenant (15 years). She got married in 2011. I added spouse to rental agreement in 2011. Since then, he has not lived in unit. He is in and out of jail and his spouse (my long term tenant)says they are separated and is no longer welcome there. I have to make changes to the rental agreement. In the past I have served a notice of change in terms of rental agreement for rent increases, but I want to make changes to the agreement and increase the $800 SD. The rent is $1100 a month and I have not increased the SD since the original tenant moved in in 2000. I really want to remove her husband from the rental agreement and go back to having only her listed as a tenant. How can I get him off of the agreement and/or make changes legally with or without his knowledge? I appreciate any help you can give

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Re: Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit by Anonymous on May 23, 2015 @19:39	[ Reply ]

You can't do that. If you remove him from the agreement without his knowledge that would be dishonest. The legal way to do it is to have him sign a release allowing you and her to void the old lease and create a new one, or possibly amend the current lease.

Re: Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit

Re: Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit by Garry (Iowa) on May 23, 2015 @20:29	[ Reply ]

Either she needs to get legally divorced from him,or she needs to get a permanent restraining order against him. (or both) Then you and she can make out a new lease with whatever new terms you want in it. She is the one who brought him into the picture 4 years ago, so she must be the one to legally take him out of the picture. If she does neither of those, you can still make out a new lease, with new terms, and only have her only sign the lease. But because they are still legally married, you cannot prevent him from being there, only she can.

Re: Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit

Re: Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit by MrDan (Georgia) on May 25, 2015 @16:36	[ Reply ]

You just cannot unilaterally remove the husband from the lease, unless the husband agrees, and the agreement is in writing. It does not matter if the husband is in jail, he has an interest in the property and is subject to all the rights and responsibilities of the lease. Lease Renewal In the case where the lease is up for renewal, it is possible to renew the lease only in the name of the remaining tenant if the husband is gone and you can confirm this completely. The big issue is the security deposit. You cannot just rollover the security deposit into a new lease, unless all the original tenants are on that new lease. The fact that the husband is gone does not automatically vest the security deposit in the remaining tenant. You need to ask the remaining tenant for a brand new security deposit and do your normal disposition of the original security deposit. Tenant Vacating Agreement In order to properly remove the husband from the lease, the landlord and the vacating husband should sign a 'Tenant Vacating Agreement', where the husband agrees to relinquish all rights to the security deposit, any advance rent, any prepaid fees or charges and agrees that nothing is owed to husband by the Landlord. That the husband completely vacates the premises as per the agreement and agrees not to return or otherwise reside on the premises at any future date, the landlord will release the husband from the obligations of the lease agreement. Although this is a simplified response, the goal should be to protect the landlord from any possible claims from the husband if he vacates the rental.

Tenant on Rental Agreement does not live in unit - Landlord Forum thread 335367