Tenant in Hospice, will soon die

[Angela Liu]

I have an older 70+ gentle man and younger 50+wife renting my house.  Old man was in & out of Hospice.  Probably will die soon.  Wife is very upset because the A.C. was not working for 5 - 7 days while the old man was in hospice.  Monday, we called all retail store - cannot find any available portable Swamp Cooler.  Tuesday, Luckily we found a portable Swamp Cooler, delivered, installed before the guy arriving home from hospice. Wednesday, delivered an additional electric fan again before wife complaint not cool enough.  Thursday, finally technician went up the roof & fix the A.C.  (Technician was fully booked, and can't be there until Thursday. That's why we were trying to find the portable in the first place.)   Their rent is one-month behind.  Had been giving them 3-day-notice month after month since Jan 2016.  They refuse to leave.  I know that I will have to hire eviction lawyer and eventually they will win because of they are poor, they will have legal-aid.  Wife threaten to sue me for "Elderly Abuse".   

Need advice:

1. Did I do everything right?  Anything I missed?

2. Can tenant sue me because A.C. broke?

3. Can wife blame me on the husband's illness?  or condition deterioration?

4. How do I get rid of them?

5. If he died, what should I do?

6. Do I need to disclose to the next tenant?

7. Can I still evict them? 

[Gail K.]

1. In terms of a lawsuit, the emphasis is on how aggressive was the landlord in terms of addressing the repair issue.  Keep all records of what you did if this does come to a lawsuit.

2. People can sue for whatever they want.  It's likely the wife is going through a stressful time herself and is dealing with the fact that her husband will die soon.  She cannot control that.  She may be taking her frustration out on the one person she feels is not understanding their situation; the mean landlord who not only doesn't forgive them for not paying their rent but also for not fixing their air immediately.

3.  Of course not.  Having worked in Palliative/Hospice care, folks enter Hospice when the assumption is that they have a life expectancy of six months or less.  You didn't cause the husbands illness.

4.  Not to sound harsh but if he truly is "going to die soon" perhaps it is better that you do nothing it terms of "getting rid of them" now.  In fact, a bit of sympathy in regards to what the wife is dealing with may help stave off her idea of an eviction.

5.  Can the wife afford your rental unit on her income alone?  If not, then continue with the eviction process.

6.  As I understand it, if he dies in your rental property, yes.  However, others from California are more knowledgeable about this requirement.

7.  Yes but unless you want to see your name splashed all over the local news as the bad landlord who kicked out a dying patient, review number 4.

Gail