Re: Need help with a tenant situation please - Landlord Forum thread 355574

Re: Need help with a tenant situation please by Anonymous on January 3, 2018 @16:42

Hello, I just saw your post asking for advice. Let me first say, I am not a lawyer and cannot provide legal advice. You must do something and act quickly even if only to send a written letter they are in breach of the contract and provide a deadline of when to cure the breach. I suggest go back with MTM in hand ready to be signed and have them hand over the new rent amount in full, or you can hand them option “B” notice to cure or quit and be prepared to enforce either one if not honored.

But to address your two questions:
Please give me your advice on this matter.

1. Am I better just to wait until her lease is up (pending she stays up to date on rent) and have her move out then in July 31st. AND make some stipulations, like paying extra as the lease states for the 2nd adult, AND telling her she needs to remove the boxes and put in storage. Which she says she can not afford...so she probably would not comply.

Remember you don’t charge by the “adult” so what does your lease state? Does it read something like, $50 a month for each additional “occupant” added to the lease? If so, you would be adding 3 “occupants” and that would be $150. In keeping with discrimination laws, you are not making distinctions and asking about children/adults, you only ask how many “occupants” and apply your lease terms accordingly. I must warn you it can go either way because there is controversial arguments on both sides over this fee. If you give them a notice and time to get a lawyer or research it, it can end up costing you much later. But if you go armed with the agreements in hand and enforce your rights and their breach and present it to her just right you can come out ahead of the game in a more powerful position. The more time you give them, the more control you surrender, the more opportunity you provide them to find out the games they can play that will end up costing you money as they live in your rental withholding your rent or setting the pace for you to dance to. If you do nothing and don’t set the pace to say what happens next, courts look at this as a waiver that you were okay with the situation because otherwise you would have asserted your privileges and legal remedies to correct it.
2. OR do I tell her she needs to be out by the end of January and wait to even show the unit until after she is out. People can't even see the walls right now...boxes are piled 5 feet high.

I am open to all advice and input.
Thank you for your help
I wouldn’t bluff unless you know how to do it and back it up! If you say to them I’ll let you move-out by the end of January, what does that mean? If they move out they are no longer on the hook for the remaining lease term if you try to rent it but can’t? Does it mean that by their bodies being out is good enough, even if they had to leave some of the boxes behind? As they are moving out, they say hey this is too much work, we’ll just leave all these boxes here until we get settled, the landlord can still show the property but better make sure our stuff is secure. Let’s say now they have moved to another state where the husband was living before and think it’s too troublesome to come back for those boxes, now they’d rather sue you and claim there were expensive items left behind. This problem can be as long or as short as you allow it. Be sure not to be vague and ambiguous. She signed a lease, she breached the lease, and there are consequences for that! They will be trying to avoid those consequences and you need to present your options as the lighter penalty.

First decision is do YOU want to keep her or try to get this situation out of your rental? Stay in the driver’s seat! Don’t surrender your power, she breached the contract not you. Is it cheaper to keep her and do a new agreement? If so, this time, please make it a month-to-month!

Deciding factors of what your next moves should be:
What is best for you, your rental and the tenants?
A lease is not your friend it ties your hands. You would have had more options had you and your tenant agreed to sign a month-to-month.
Do you keep the current lease and act on the breaches to (a) mutually sign a new agreement (b) serve them to cure or quit?
Do you:
• Mutually sign a new month-to-month agreement
• Put husband on the lease – now you have 2 debtors you can pursue and not just one
• Use this to serve as a warning you are a landlord who enforces his written policies, but fair. Let this serve as notice not to violate the terms or there will be consequences, next time it may be 30 Day Notice to Vacate
• You can make them love you and respect you if you handle this right. This is actually a golden opportunity to regain control, keep them but under your new agreement and rent.
• Also a good time to let it be known rent is due BY the 1st, and there is no grace period. Remember, whatever you allow creates a waiver.

Teresa (www.IETenantMatch.com)

[ Reply ] [ Return to forum ]