Tenants don't want to leave after lease expired

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Tenants don't want to leave after lease expired

Cynthia Ng
Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes

I'm a college student rental landlord and I owned several properties and never had any problems for years.

BUT!!  It was my mistake being a soft hearted person; last Sept I accepted a "mom" who claimed she supporting her daughter for college so shes renting a room from me while her daughter staying at dorm.  Before we signed the lease I told the mom I am going to sell the house so I'm only doing 6 month lease; the mom mentioned she can stay before i found a buyer I SAID MAYBE but i don't know what I am gonna do.  Comes to find out her daughter never started college and the daughter had stayed there for 3 weeks before I caught them.

They said the daughter had identity theft so the daughter had no place to stay and again trying to be a nice person I only charged them extra $25 a month and we agreed when the lease expired on 3/7/2017; the mom's lease is over and they have to leave.

Now, less than 7 weeks to go; they claimed I have to find them housing to relocate them or letting them stay until I found a buyer.

I am newly RE agent; I really don't want to do anything to risk losing my license 

BP community please help!! 

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Thomas S.
Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
9y

You will need to evict if they do not vacate at the end of the lease if they have been given proper notice. You can not serve an eviction simply because they are suggesting they are not leaving at the end of the lease.

You must give them notice informing them you will not renew their lease and if they refuse to leave on that date the next day you must start the eviction process. Until the last day of the lease, providing they are paying rent and following their lease there are no grounds to evict.

This is all dependant on your state landlord tenant regulations regarding hold over occupancy.

Step one learn your state regulations

Step two give notice informing them you will not renew at the end of their lease

Step three wait and see what they do.

Step four if they do not leave.......follow your state regulations to evict. 

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  • Matthew Paul
    Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    9y

    Start the eviction NOW 

    2Reply
  • Account Closed
    Real Estate Agent · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y
    All you have to do is follow your state laws for ending tenancyYour broker can help you I would cease conversations with the tenant and be firm that you are not extending the lease
    2Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    Thank you guys!!

    1Reply
  • Samantha Klein
    Investor · Monroe, WI · Member since 2015 · 691 posts · 610 votes
    9y

    @Cynthia Ng You are not responsible for finding them housing after the lease has expired. There's nothing you can do until it actually expires unless they stop paying. You will have to evict them for holding over past the completed lease. Soft hearts in this business will land you in this situation. The tenant is taking advantage of you. You should have evicted when you found out the daughter was staying there without your permission. It's likely most everything the tenant told you in order to get you to rent to her was a lie. 

    1Reply
  • Greg H.Pro Member
    Moderator
    Broker/Flipper · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:

    Start the eviction NOW 

     What could you possibly evict for now? Tenant is current, he excepted the additional occupant and the lease does not end until 3/7

    3Reply
  • Lee S.
    Northern, CA · Member since 2014 · 674 posts · 444 votes
    9y

    I don't get the soft hearted thing.  Ask your tenant to push a shopping cart of groceries out of a store or similar and excuse themselves based on life's challenges, see how those business owners handle it.  I view non payment of rent as theft and it will be dealt with accordingly.  That does not mean I don't feel for their situation but it is THEIR situation.  I don't run a charity.

    IMO the reason landlords get in this situation is they are too concerned about being liked (insecurity) than running a business.  You have a contract (lease), own up to your end and expect the tenant to own up to their end 100% or show them the door immediately.  SMH.

    4Reply
  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    9y

    You will need to evict if they do not vacate at the end of the lease if they have been given proper notice. You can not serve an eviction simply because they are suggesting they are not leaving at the end of the lease.

    You must give them notice informing them you will not renew their lease and if they refuse to leave on that date the next day you must start the eviction process. Until the last day of the lease, providing they are paying rent and following their lease there are no grounds to evict.

    This is all dependant on your state landlord tenant regulations regarding hold over occupancy.

    Step one learn your state regulations

    Step two give notice informing them you will not renew at the end of their lease

    Step three wait and see what they do.

    Step four if they do not leave.......follow your state regulations to evict. 

    6Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    Samantha, you are absolutely right and it was my lesson to learn for sure.

    I am searching for my state regulations now

    Thank you all for your valuable info!

    1Reply
  • Matthew Paul
    Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Greg H.:
    Originally posted by @Matthew Paul:

    Start the eviction NOW 

     What could you possibly evict for now? Tenant is current, he excepted the additional occupant and the lease does not end until 3/7

    Miss read the post . 

    0Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    I am going to send them the notice of termination next week and go from there

    0Reply
  • Brian Garlington
    Realtor · Oakland, CA and a Real Estate Investor with Multi-Family Units and a Self Storage Facility · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    @Cynthia Ng

    Um..........I would not wait until next week.........I would do it today!

    1Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    oh meant this week

    thank you

    0Reply
  • Mark B.
    Engineer · Allentown, PA · Member since 2014 · 105 posts · 64 votes
    9y

    I might be wrong with this, but I'm not sure this is your problem actually.  Is there a reason you can't sell the property with them still in it and let the buyer decide what to do? The buyer might be happy buying a rented property, or might not want to work with them and then evict them. And I don't mean to hide or mislead the buyer at all, I'm just thinking of options that could benefit everyone potentially.

    I would think you could switch them to month to month at the end of their current lease and end up collecting rent until the day of sale.

    Unless of course they are blocking you from showing the property during the sale period.

    Can anyone more experienced weigh in on this? (also for my own curiosity)

    0Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    they actually expressed how much they love my house and don't want to live and they been very disruptive to my other tenants 

    I just can't have them there period

    0Reply
  • Mark B.
    Engineer · Allentown, PA · Member since 2014 · 105 posts · 64 votes
    9y

    Ah okay, thats very different then.  Sorry to hear about the issues!

    0Reply
  • Mindy JensenPro Member
    BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    9y

    @Cynthia Ng , I would give them a notice of non-renewal of lease in accordance to your state's landlord tenant laws. Most states require 30 day notice of non renewal, but some require 60 days, so make sure you follow the laws.

    Then, if they call, you let it go to voicemail. 

    You are right to want these tenants out. They lied at the outset (either they planned for the daughter to live there all along, or the daughter's plans changed and they didn't tell you, which is a lie by ommission.)

    They will not change, and now would be a great time to sit down and document everything that has happened so far, and continue to document as the situation progresses. 

    [email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #261
    BiggerPockets
    0Reply
  • Charles Huang
    Attorney · Alexandria, VA · Member since 2016 · 51 posts · 20 votes
    9y

    I agree with @Mindy Jensen that you should give them a notice of non-renewal. You have to have a reason to terminate the lease, such as a breach of some part of the lease. In most states, if not all, you cannot terminate the lease without some basis in the lease. Just in my personal opinion it doesn't look like they've given you a reason to evict if they have paid their rent and you've agreed to letting the daughter stay there. If you try to evict them before the lease expires, I don't think a court will rule in your favor.

    If they don't leave when the lease expires, I looked up the Sheriff's office for your area. Here is a link from their website that describes the process. 

    0Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    I'm going to give them the notice of termination this Wednesday which is more than 30 days prior their lease is expired which the NYS regulations.  Also, I didn't mentioned that I only agreed that her daughter could only stay there until the end of Dec of last year.  Regardless, I just don't think I can rent to them as a landlord; I just not feeling comfortable renting to them.  It's matter of principal, I don't rent to people who breach their contracts right at the beginning.  Its a learning curve for me, for now they agree to leave on 3/7; so we will see.

    0Reply
  • Tom Keith
    Investor · Longview, TX · Member since 2012 · 631 posts · 186 votes
    9y

    @Cynthia Long,  after reading the Landlord/Tenant laws and you are firm with this knowledge act on it.  In your conversations above you have listed at least 3 contract violations.  1. Moving and unknown, unvented,or unapproved person into your property.  2. Violating your agreement ( was the agreement to allow daughter to stay until last December in writing?) to allow daughter to stay until last December.  3. Being disruptive to other rent paying tenants.  This could cause you to lose their business if you do not put a stop to it immediately.  Finally, your bad feeling about them being there.  They are probably professional tenants and you better get on this asap, go hard and go strong.  You may need a lawyer well known for real estate knowledge.   Best of Luck.  

    0Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    @Tomkeith

    @Tom Keith, you are absolutely correct!  I'm meeting with them along with my other tenant tomorrow 

    I am going to hand over the letter in front of my other tenant so they cant play they never rec'd it type excuse.

    Its funny the mom is a retired vet!!  

    Lesson learned!!

    0Reply
  • Sam Alomari
    Rental Property Investor · Alexandria, VA · Member since 2016 · 75 posts · 58 votes
    9y

    Hi @Cynthia Ng, Just wondering, can't you offer them cash for keys to get your property back earlier and in a good shape? I know the ladies are current tenants, but if you are expecting issues in the near future, I would offer them a small amount of cash to leave the property NOW. If you need the rent, and don't mind going through the process, that should work too.

    0Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    I did thought about it; how much do I need to offer them just out of curiosity?

    0Reply
  • Tom Keith
    Investor · Longview, TX · Member since 2012 · 631 posts · 186 votes
    9y

    @Cynthia Ng  you might add a signature line for you and tenant and two copies to sign, one for you and one for tenant.  I wonder if privacy rules might be broken if you bring it out in front of the other tenant.   You can tell her afterward but would think you could be in trouble if they are present at the time.   Otherwise, send it certified for proof.  

    0Reply
  • Cynthia Ng
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Hopewell Junction, NY · Member since 2015 · 60 posts · 11 votes
    9y

    @Tomkeith, good call

    0Reply
  • Connor Smith
    Buffalo, NY · Member since 2013 · 49 posts · 22 votes
    9y

    I would not just present them a letter in person they can deny receiving it. I would not involve your other tenant in this.

    Send a certified letter stating the lease is terminated after the 6 month lease date. If they do not open the letter it will come back to you sealed. Do NOT open it. Bring it with you to eviction court sealed and the judge can open it. This is the standard process for notifying someone of lease termination.

    1Reply
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