Re: 85 year old tenant - Landlord Forum thread 337033

Re: 85 year old tenant by Anonymous on July 6, 2015 @23:28

all of this is about just a phone call, how hard can that be? it's not taking on the role of a provider for the person. can't you understand what's being discuss without jumping to unfounded conclusions? it's about helping the tenant find an organization that can help. how stressful can that be to make a call or two to help someone in need?

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Re: 85 year old tenant by Nicole (PA) on July 7, 2015 @07:58	[ Reply ]

have you ever attempted to find rent assistance? it's not as simple as making a call or two. Government assistance, after you get on the list, takes months, if not years. You go through A LOT of hoops to get on that list. Various community organizations have different criteria. where I live, one makes them take a class before they'll talk to them. another insists the eviction has been filed before they'll even talk to them. All kinds of organizations are out there ... but weeding through and finding one to assist, and then doing to attendant paperwork and fulfilling that program's requirements is not easy. You don't make a phone call and someone brings rent money to the landlord. I really think you're missing the point of what the other anon poster and myself are making.

Re: 85 year old tenant by Anonymous on July 7, 2015 @09:04	[ Reply ]

this is not about rental assistance, but eldercare for those individuals who need help. why is this confusing to you? the landlord is not involved in seeking assistance, but in reporting it to the proper services. these services will respond and take it from there, providing what assistance is needed. it's the same as calling the fire department, your not expected to also put out the fire!

Re: 85 year old tenant by Anonymous on July 7, 2015 @12:02	[ Reply ]

Why do you assume the tenant is incapable of calling elder care herself, if she so desired? Why do you assume she has no friends or family to do this? Why do you assume this is the job of the landlord and not the grocer or banker?

Re: 85 year old tenant

Re: 85 year old tenant by Anonymous on July 7, 2015 @12:11	[ Reply ]

Nicole, it appears you and I are the only responders who have any experience in this area. Like you, I have discovered over time and with various tenants exactly what the requirements are for assistance in my area, and it is not a walk in the park, make a phone call and walk away. To be anything truly useful, one would have to be persistent and have a greater knowledge of the tenant's personal information than I, as a landlord, care to have. Taking care of the elderly or infirm is the business of the tenant's friends and family, and maybe the social services office. It is not the duty or business of the landlord to make decisions about the tenant's health or welfare. It's the landlord's job to run his business for profit. OP's original statement merely said the tenant was 85, in poor health, and unable to pay rent. The first 2 issues have nothing to do with the landlord, but the third certainly does! A tenant of any age and heath who cannot pay rent is not a tenant. It's the landlords duty to his creditors to move this person along and quickly and painlessly as possible to make way for a paying tenant. Sometimes a simply Notice to Terminate will get the tenant moving toward whatever assistance they are able or qualified to use. If a landlord chooses any further actions, it because they want to, not because it's a good or bad business decision--it has nothing to do with the business.