Non-payment of rent & tenant now claims uninhabitable

Non-payment of rent & tenant now claims uninhabitable by Anonymous (Oklahoma) on June 30, 2015 @02:47

Hello i have a tenant that is supposed to pay rent biweekly (per her request to coincide with paycheck). No written lease. They have been in my rental for 5 months. I've received rent for 3 months, every payment has been late, i have to call, text, leave messages and my calls don't get returned. The only reason I got last month's rent is because I posted a 5 Day Pay or Quit (also sent certified letter & it never got picked up). Now, May's rent she said she will have to see how much she can send on payday...payday came and went, I had to call, text & tell them I was coming to town (I live 80 miles away) and was coming by the house to find out what the deal was. They texted back the house smells like sewer and didnt send any of the rent. The 1st month (Feb) they were there the rent was late i had to call repeatedly & she said she had to call plumber to clear the line & would deduct bill and mail the rest. Finally she did. After seeing plumbing bill, i spoke with plumber & i found out the whole house would need to be re-plumbed at some point. Explained to tenant it might be a couple months until I have $2000 to fix (im retired) she's fine with it and she wants to stay in the house while repairs get made. Now no rent has been paid for last month & she said she didnt send it. Thats it. No other contact & she wont take calls, text or call me back. Can she claim uninhabitable now on last months late rent? Im guessing that will be the excuse IF I hear from her & I probably wont until there's another problem or she needs something. Do I do a non-renewal? I just want them gone. I dont want to do another pay or quit & give them a opportunity to come up with the $. How much notice do I give since she was supposed to be biweekly even though she hasnt ever paid on time? Post notice? It will be better with the house empty to have it fixed anyway. Im not receiving any rent as it is. Please help.

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Re: Non-payment of rent & tenant now claims uninhabitable by No Nonsense Landlord (MN) on June 30, 2015 @08:57	[ Reply ]

This tenant is a deadbeat. Get rid of them. Under NO circumstances do you let them stay. You will have a far greater repair bill than $2,000 when they move out. And you will still have the plumbing bill. A simple credit score check, for less than $20, would have prevented this.

Re: Non-payment of rent & tenant now claims uninhabitable by jannie (IL) on June 30, 2015 @08:57	[ Reply ]

Sure she wants to stay in the house while repairs are made -- you are basically letting them stay rent free. I would cut my losses and give them a notice of non-renewal per what your state rules are. As far as the plumbing is concerned I'd get a second opinoin, but either way - get these people out. Prescreen your tenants and have an application, check your tenants out credit & background. Have a written lease.

time o file bankruptcy is right now

Re: time o file bankruptcy is right now

Non-payment of rent & tenant now claims uninhabitable - Landlord Forum thread 336769