Serve the Demand for Possession over nonpayment on the First?
Hello BP,
All my leases state that rent is due on the first, late if I do not have it on the 5th, and I send out the "Demand for Possession NonPayment of Rent" notice via the mail on the 6th giving them 7 days (8 days since I mail it) to pay or get out, then I go to court.
I have a tenant that I inherited and his lease states that the rent is due in advance of the first, and the late fee of $2/day gets tacked on starting on the 6th. This tenant told me that a week ago, his vehicle which he uses as a taxi burned up containing his phone and all his money, and he is no longer able to work and cannot pay rent since he has no money in the bank. The only money he has is in the form of his security deposit- one month's rent, other than that he is waiting on his insurance company to pay for the claim.
His lease ends at the end of August, and we had already agreed to let him out of his lease early without the early termination fee IF we were able to find a tenant able to move in sooner. He is moving in with his girlfriend and said he is able to move at any time, and can be out of the apartment in 2 days.
I left him a letter Friday stating that if he cannot pay rent, he should vacate by the 1st and we will deduct the early termination fee from his deposit.
Is there any reason not to mail out the Demand for Possession on the first assuming rent isn't paid? We haven't been able to find a tenant yet, and of out prospective tenants the earliest move in date is the end of July, so we wouldn't be collecting rent until then anyways. There are some updates to the apartment we'd like to do (painting and cleaning mostly) but we aren't going to be able to do a lot until the middle of the month due to other obligations that we have. My feeling is to get him out of there asap (he has a place to go) and get the utilities out of his name (saving him money), so that we don't end up with a situation where he's thinking his deposit will cover him through July, then he takes a while actually moving out and ends up owing more than his deposit in the long run.
I am showing the apartment tomorrow, so we'll see if there has been any progress in moving out. So far I have seen no evidence of him packing up (hard to tell from outside when I am driving by or taking care of the lawn though) and I haven't heard from him.
Thanks,
Kelly