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Tenant refusing to pay
by Jana (Alabama)
on July 29, 2016 @20:02
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I have tenants who have been in my house now for three years with NO issues. They have always paid on time, kept the place up. We (husband and I) recently told them we are wanting to sell and gave them first right of refusal. They said they are interested (yes it was just verbal/I know, my mistake) and were working toward getting an approval. They apparently weren't, as he called the day he always pays rent (which is usually a week past the 1st), and said they actually are getting another house (so they lied to us). Then he said they are using their deposit as last month's rent. Well, I'll admit, I didn't know that you can't do that, and had to read up on it. Long and short, we told them we had look for a new tenant to protect our home/interest. They even sent over pictures for us to post! Then we said we want to show it and they get mad and refuse to leave so we can show it (week had gone by since we gave them notice we're showing, so ample time), and now they are not communicating with us. We sent them a certified letter about what we expect (pay or quit) and we text them to see what they plan on doing (day of the deadline we gave them) and they said "we have 7 days to respond and we're moving out before 15th of next month". But obviously that means they do not intend to pay. What should we do? What is our recours? We do NOT want to file an eviction. I was thinking I could tell them if they don't pay by 1st, we would be reporting them to credit bureau and to the mortgage company they are trying to get approval through for failure to pay. (sorry for the book)
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Re: Tenant refusing to pay
by Garry (Iowa)
on July 29, 2016 @21:50
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For now, do nothing. If their rent is paid for July, you need to wait til they do not pay you any rent for Aug. Then start eviction procedures for your state, on or about the 7th of Aug. I say Aug 7 because if you have accepted a pattern of allowing them to be 1 week late, then you need to wait that 1 week to see if they pay the rent. DO NOT try to force your way in to show the property. You gave them the option to buy your property, and they declined. Just LET them move out, while you file for eviction. Above all, DO NOT say anything to the mortgage comp. You could get yourself in BIG trouble if they file a lawsuit against you. You cannot call the credit agencies either. The BEST thing you can do, is cool your heels, and wait till they are totally out, then fix your place up, before you show it to anybody. If you try to harass them in any way, they could leave your place trashed when the leave. A LL should never try to sell a single family home while a tenant is still there. If you want to sell it now, vacate it, fix it up, and keep it vacant til you either sell it, of take it off the for sale market, and rent it out again, till next spring. Then vacate it in the spring, and try to sell it over next summer.
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