Tenant death...now what?

[Fay Chen]

So... I lease my SFR to my friend who runs a student house. He put 7 tenants in the house. It's not a slum house, I promise. It's got wood floors, new furniture in all rooms, game room, utilities all covered and cleaning service every 2 weeks. You get the picture.

One of the tenants died of drug O.D. His body was found by another tenant. The Sheriff determined that it was an accident and said they would contact the family. He already cleaned the room and put the personal belongings in the storage.

The lease I have is directly with my friend, who pays be a fixed rent every month. He sublets it to different students. I don't know the students and I don't know how much he charges them.

I asked my friend, the PM, to get a copy of the sheriff's report when it's ready. He told me not to worry. Is there anything else I should do and be scared of? 

[Nicole A.]

I'm sure those wood floors, new furniture, and such are all being treated with a lot of care by a bunch of students, at least some of who are doing drugs.

Get familar with your local landlord laws and get a consultation with a good attorney. Lots of times the consultation is free. Figure out what you need to do.

Read your lease; does it allow the subletting your friend is doing. If not, you need to end that now. If it does allow it, you need to not renew the lease when it expires and draw yourself a stronger lease.