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Landlord advice (again): Tenant moving out early
milk ducks
High Mucky MuckBig Tits TownRegistered User regular
High Mucky MuckBig Tits TownRegistered User regular
Hey guys. Last month, I made a post asking for help with a situation that arose with my current tenant; she could only make a partial payment of last month's rent, and I had some questions about late payment charges. Well, now she's messaged us and stated that because her grades are slipping, she's not qualifying for some of the grants and scholarships she planned for, and she won't be able to afford to live at our property any longer. She says she'll be moving back in with her parents on the other side of town. So, here's my question:
She signed a 12-month lease contract with us, and she only stayed for three months. Am I correct in the understanding that we are still entitled to the remaining 9 months of unpaid rent, even if she's not still living at the property? Because that's the way I understand it. She is offering to find someone else to rent the property for the remainder of her lease, but the truth is that I never wanted to lease the property in the first place; I wanted to sell it outright last December, but I was willing to rent it out to this specific tenant because her parents are friends of ours. I've been really disappointed by her, though, and I don't want any of her friends in that house. Frankly, I don't want anyone in that house. What I want to do is get it re-painted, fixed up and put up on the market so we can sell it off and wash our hands of it.
I told her that we need to set up a time to get together next week to discuss rental payments. She says she's not only behind on the rent, but on student loan payments, hospital bills, and a number of other things. And, you know, I feel bad for her ... but we have a legally-binding contract that states she'll be in that property and making payments for 12 months. I understand that times must be rough for her right now, but I'm frankly not willing to hand-wave several thousand dollars' worth of payments if we're legally-entitled to them.
So, what are my options here, guys?
She signed a 12-month lease contract with us, and she only stayed for three months. Am I correct in the understanding that we are still entitled to the remaining 9 months of unpaid rent, even if she's not still living at the property? Because that's the way I understand it. She is offering to find someone else to rent the property for the remainder of her lease, but the truth is that I never wanted to lease the property in the first place; I wanted to sell it outright last December, but I was willing to rent it out to this specific tenant because her parents are friends of ours. I've been really disappointed by her, though, and I don't want any of her friends in that house. Frankly, I don't want anyone in that house. What I want to do is get it re-painted, fixed up and put up on the market so we can sell it off and wash our hands of it.
I told her that we need to set up a time to get together next week to discuss rental payments. She says she's not only behind on the rent, but on student loan payments, hospital bills, and a number of other things. And, you know, I feel bad for her ... but we have a legally-binding contract that states she'll be in that property and making payments for 12 months. I understand that times must be rough for her right now, but I'm frankly not willing to hand-wave several thousand dollars' worth of payments if we're legally-entitled to them.
So, what are my options here, guys?
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Honest advice is get some legal counsel.
There's definitely some way to work this out, and hopefully you had her parents co-sign the lease so that you have some legal ground with them as well, because she sounds like she has no real ability to pay.
This does several things for us: it helps to ensure that the tenant will be out of the property when she says she will be (the sooner she's out, the sooner we can sell it); it also shows that we're being tough but fair. Sound good?
Get your back rent, let her out of the lease and sell.
The tenant must pay the rent for every month until the unit is occupied. The tenant must find a new tenant who is acceptable to you. You can charge her until she gets a new tenant, but not after she gets a new tenant.
This varies by state, so check up on your local laws. Talking to a lawyer is a great idea.
Just based on human nature, you are unlikely to get 9 months of rent from someone who is behind on her bills who is no longer living on the property.
EDIT: Also, you will have to give her notice once you do sell the house. The length of that notice can vary by location, but it's normally 30 days or 1 month.
@LadyM is also right to point out that you likely won't be able to squeeze nine months of rent out of someone who has difficulty paying rent for three months, particularly if she has other debts to worry about as well. The amount of time and money you could spend chasing down that debt could well exceed the value of the debt itself.
I think this falls into some sort of corollary to the "Don't get involved financially with friends or family" maxim.
fake edit: what mts said, early termination fee. If you have one of those in there you should be covered at least till you can get rid of the place.
You wanted to sell the house anyway, and you are basically in exactly the same position now that you were in when the whole renters thing came up. I would ask for back rent (up until the point where she has vacated the house completely), plus an early termination fee (maybe something like 1 months rent). If they agree I would just move on as if the whole thing never happened.
A mutual agreement with the tenant is likely to be the easiest solution for all parties given the ambiguity here (I am assuming the lease does not include a options for early termination.) The good news is that equivalent of two or three months' rent is not an unreasonable penalty for breaking a lease early; if that works for both sides you can just cut a deal and move on.
Pluto was a planet and I'll never forget
Also, you need to check your local laws regarding selling a house that has a tenant renting - they can also depend on the state, and depending on how much of a good relationship you have with the tenant that can also be a problem. I got into a situation like this - CA is actually very strict, you need 24 hours notice, they can't be overly burdensome / all the time, you really legally can't force the tenant to not be there, and they have to be during normal business hours - which my landlords didn't really want to follow (since open houses are more popular on weekends).
Add burning a friendship on top of that, and it's probably best to just suck it up, and walk away. It would be a good idea to review your local landlord/tenant laws, the lease you have with her, and possibly consult a lawyer (most lawyers will give you a free consultation).
Yes, typically you must look for a new tenant, and, if she finds people who are willing to take possession of the place at her rent and you dont take them and dont list the place or try for a higher rent, then she can end up owing nothing. This will vary per location, but in general you cant just force them to pay whatever.
Unless there's a magic clause in your tenancy agreement, there wouldn't be a magical sum of money you're entitled too, and from what you've described you'd be squeezing blood-from-a-stone for it anyway.
Our tenant told me the other day she'd be out by the 15th of April, and I originally said that was okay. But I messaged her today and told her I need her out by the 1st of April. She still owes us half of the rent for March, so that tells me I'm not going to see a partial payment for half of April, either, and I can't allow her to stay in that property without paying. I appreciate that she has other bills, but I have other bills too, and I can't allow her to stay in that property without payment.
TLDR: Vacate by the 1st of April, and we'll wash our hands of everything else.
Fair?
Fair? Maybe. Legal? Maybe not. You really need to find out what the law actually is before you do things like sending what might constitute an eviction notice via a platform that makes it hard for you to deny doing it.
That said, usually the law is protective of certain renter's rights, specifically keeping them from having to pay you for excessive months, and keeping you from being able to just throw them out. Now, if they agree to your deal because they also want to avoid some problems, maybe it'll work.
That said, usually you have to give at least 30 days notice to evict someone. Additionally, you can usually collect rent on a lease for all remaining rents owed until you can find a replacement tenant (and you have to be looking in good faith), OR a lease can be terminated (often at the cost of 1-3 months rent). I don't think your aunt is right that you're entitled to 9 months rent, I've never heard of a locality with laws like that.
The fact that you don't want a replacement tenant hurts you, because it really puts you at odds with all the renting laws I'm familiar with.
If you can come to a deal with her parents where they'll cut you a check on the spot and she's not pissed, take that deal. Otherwise, you may want to be careful to follow the local laws.
It's not an eviction, though. In exchange for her deadbeat as being out by 4/1, he's letting her out of the lease.
That said, she's only a half a month behind?
Take it out of the security. Even stevens.
There's a whole heap of rules around security deposits, don't even mess here without research.
It couldn't hurt to write all that up and have you, her, and her parents (as witness) sign it. Just...to cover your ass, should an extremely, extremely unlikely scenario arise.
That's good, then. For future reference, always include a provision for early termination of the lease with an explicitly stated penalty. Make sure this penalty is large enough to discourage people from breaking the lease but small enough that it's cheaper to pay you than it is to pay a lawyer to fight it.
When I was renting, the penalty was a full month's rent, which coincidentally was what was collected as the security deposit so he could keep it if I bailed on him.
As far as this goes, I think you are doing a good job recognizing the balance between what's fair and what's feasible.
Again varies location to location. In my province, your only legally allowed to keep half of the first month's rent for a deposit AND if rent goes up, you can't ask for more.
milk, it really looks like you're getting a good deal with the parents getting to float some costs to help the kid. I'd cut your loses and get whatever you can.
In the future, maybe base a lease off something like this (pdf) Its a template with fill in the blanks for the details as well as clean rules for the little details (late rent, inspections, repairs, etc). It's better to get this all in the open between the two of you cuz if there is a problem, it's your home.
However, you need to be offering the tenant the right to find a replacement if you're going to charge them termination fees for breaking the lease. At least, in my experience in a few counties. You should get with a lawyer if this is a thing for you, and you really want those few grand. Chances are you're going to have to keep leasing it, so like others have said, it's probably best if you just let her out, keep whatever you can of the security deposit, then sell the place.
True in most but not all states.