Tenant has not paid rent and lease ends this month
My tenant has not paid her May rent and the lease ends at the end of this month. Not sure what I should do. I assume she thinks I will use her one month security deposit as the payment for this last month but of course I will not accept that. Thanks for any advice.
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This is common. I’d definitely be careful setting the precedent that the security deposit can be used as last month’s rent unless your lease specifically allows it. A lot of tenants assume that, but the deposit is really there to protect against damages, unpaid utilities, cleaning, etc. after move out.
At this point, I’d communicate with her in writing immediately and keep everything documented. You want to clearly state that rent is still due and the security deposit does not replace that obligation.
I’d also start preparing now in case the move out doesn’t go smoothly. Unfortunately, the situations where tenants stop paying at the end of a lease are usually the same situations where properties can come back with damages or unexpected issues.