tenant breaking of lease, damages, repairs, and liability

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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tenant breaking of lease, damages, repairs, and liability

Tom V.
Torrington, CT · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 4 votes

Hi guys. Been a while.

I have a question for you all.

First off, I am in CT.

Now, my questions revolves around a tenant breaking a lease, damages, repairs, and liability.

I had a tenant break their lease. 2 weeks early. (lease was april 1-march 31, they were supposed to move march 15)

We made an agreement that yes, we would allow them to break the 2 weeks early, under the condition that it be broom clean (as normal) and they provided us pictures of the unit to list on zillow and whatnot for new tenants. In such case, they would only have to pay us 1/2 the rent for the month of march.

The picture requirement stemmed from a confrontation a few weeks back where he stated he did not want us in the apartment, knocking on his door, showing the unit, or otherwise any way disturbing him. So we figured, since he's moving anyway, providing us with pics to list is fine, he'll be out the 15th, and we can start showing the unit after that.

He did not move until the 18th, and never provided pictures. Further, he left furniture, trash, fridge full of food, dishes, dirt and grime everywhere. The bathroom floor is so soaked with urine that the entire subfloor needs to be pulled up and replaced, and a new floor laid down.

The entire apartment is a mess, and full of old clothes and trash.

It is obviously not in showable condition.

So my question is this - since the verbal agreement we made was broken (not moving out the 15th, not providing pictures, and not leaving the place clean) do the terms of the original lease remain in effect?

IE; is he liable for the remainder of march?

And further, as the repairs now cannot be done in time to rent for April 1, is he liable for April as well? (seeing as his damage is the direct cause of the apartment not being suitable for rent in April)

Sorry if these are dumb questions, I'm just not sure what to do.I cannot do the work myself as usual, I am pending surgery for my right arm, and it is currently very limited in use.

Therefore I am needing to hire people to do it for me. And the cleaning quotes I'm getting are 400-500 alone, not to mention the repairs.

We're already beyond the scope of his security, and I'm going to have to pursue legal means. So I just want to know what he is liable for so i can proceed.

Thanks!

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Nicole A.Pro Member
Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y

Never prorate rent on the promise they're moving out by a certain date. Full rent is due on the same day it always is due.

Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I do not understand showing a unit that is still occupied. People do not like others parading through their home regardless of the fact that they're moving out soon. I always wait until the unit is vacate before I start showing. I have no idea what kind of repairs/work will be needed until it is vacant.

But yes, you need to check local laws, but you likely can keep the deposit to cover the repairs and such. You will need to get clear receipts of the repair costs and send some sort of official letter listing deposit deductions. There's typically a timeframe, which you need to lookup for your area.

You can always try, but it may prove difficult to get any more money out of this guy than the security deposit that you hopefully have. Do you have his new mailing address? You'd need that so he can be served court papers I'd assume.

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  • Nicole A.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    Never prorate rent on the promise they're moving out by a certain date. Full rent is due on the same day it always is due.

    Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I do not understand showing a unit that is still occupied. People do not like others parading through their home regardless of the fact that they're moving out soon. I always wait until the unit is vacate before I start showing. I have no idea what kind of repairs/work will be needed until it is vacant.

    But yes, you need to check local laws, but you likely can keep the deposit to cover the repairs and such. You will need to get clear receipts of the repair costs and send some sort of official letter listing deposit deductions. There's typically a timeframe, which you need to lookup for your area.

    You can always try, but it may prove difficult to get any more money out of this guy than the security deposit that you hopefully have. Do you have his new mailing address? You'd need that so he can be served court papers I'd assume.

    1Reply
  • Deanna McCormick
    Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    1. you can not charge him for April rent, 

    2 you can charge him for the full month of March, if you did not give him written change.  he did not hold up to his verbal end of that agreement.  Hopefully no texts that he could claim was agreed on.

    3. Charge him for the clean up and repairs take photo's and keep copy of receipt. You need to send statement out within the time period your state says for sec deposit from the date you accepted keys back.. 

    4. You learned a expensive lesson, in the future when someone gives notice make arrangements to view unit before they move, and before you plan on showing it so condition can be noted, give tenant check sheet to let him know what is expected to be cleaned.. this way your not surprised when the bathroom floor was used as a outhouse probably by a pet.. 

    5 take photo's of unit once it's show ready and save for your advertising.. you have it then and don't have to rely on taking them again for marketing purposes. 

    1Reply
  • Tom V.
    OP
    Torrington, CT · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 4 votes
    9y

    No, he refused to provide his new address.

    He also refused to do a walkthrough. Hence why we didn't know the scope until after.

    I really don't want to go through the hassle, but my wife is upset and wants to take it all the way to court.

    Laws in the state are security deposit/deduction letter and remainder due tenant within 30 days of move and notification of new address.

    If notification not provided, it can be held and once notification received, 15 days from then.

    He won't give us notification - ever. 

    I realize now our mistake in pro-rating, and won't do it again. But it is what it is now. So I'm just trying to deal with it.

    My niceness gets us hurt sometimes. My wife says my trusting, forgiving nature has to be put aside in this business. It's hard for me.

    Either way, thanks for the advice. Any more?

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  • Russ M.
    Investor · Brookfield, WI · Member since 2014 · 110 posts · 99 votes
    9y

    Well at least now you know why he didnt want you in "YOUR" apartment until after he was gone.  I, personally, would never let a tenant tell us we couldn't get in if we give proper notice.  

    Take lots of pictures, document everything you see and find and keep all receipts for repairs, cleaning, etc.  When you think you have enough documentation, document some more.  You would probably have to chase him in court to get any more than his security deposit.  You will need to determine if what your costs to do that are worth versus what you think you could get out of him.

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  • Nicole A.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Baltimore County Maryland and Tampa Florida · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    Just keep moving forward is the only other advice! Learn from your mistakes (we all make them) and know that you can still be nice, yet not stray from your business. Don't rely on tenants (even good ones!) to do things for you. Hmm, what else? I could go on forever! lol Don't stray from your lease and your local laws. Don't make promises and deals. And don't accept (or believe) promises and deals! 

    Always keep the relationship business-like, even with good tenants who stay for years. Things can quickly get difficult as soon as you cross the line into friendship. An example of why it's important to stay business-like, one of my best tenants that lived in my unit for 3 years surprised me. Well, kinda. Anyway, the place was always clean. Rent paid on time. Told me about repairs before they got out of hand. Well, their family dynamic changed recently. I noticed the adult daughters had lots of sketchy-looking friends always over. But no complaints really so I let it go. Turned out the police were watching them and served a search warrant in the early morning hours last weekend. That means I had two kicked in doors/doorframes and they had a huge mess to clean up and arrests were made. Due to the nature of the incident, I was able to give a shorter notice to vacate (14 days vs normal 30 days). Surprise, best tenants and/or their friends were selling drugs!

    I have an applicant signing her lease with me tomorrow morning. She text me today to ask if she could move a few things in tonight while she "had a truck." The nice side of me wanted to say "no big deal, just let her." The business side (which won) told her that we can not allow her access to the property until the lease is signed. And guess what? She understood.

    That was just a few extra examples as some general landlording advice.

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  • Tom V.
    OP
    Torrington, CT · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 4 votes
    9y

    Thanks, I really appreciate the responses.

    Yeah, I made the mistake of crossing the friendship line before. But kind of in reverse.

    A friend of many years needed a place, so we decided to rent him one of the units, ata  slightly discounted price, no security.

    Wouldn't you know, worst tenant ever. Never on time, partial payments (which we took as he was a friend, and it hadn't gotten bad yet), culminating in damage to apartment, appliances, and taking off with no notice and rent unpaid - just a check for a couple of hundred taped to the door.

    Blocked me on phone, internet, and everywhere else. Never heard from again. I will never rent to friend and/or family again.

    Sorry for your recent troubles, Nicole W. Goes to show that really, you never know.

    On the flip side, I also had a recent tenant who signed a lease with his wife, a few months later they broke up.

    Wouldn't you know it, every single month he would meet me at the bank and pay his 50% portion of the rent. Even though he no longer resided in the unit. His ex-wife paid the remaining 50%.

    Talk about integrity.

    1Reply
  • Max T.
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9y

    Why do landlords allow tenants to refuse showings, walkthroughts, etc...? 

    Let's not forget who owns the property!

    A good lease outlines how a landlord can enter a property. Usually it is with 24 hours written notice. This can be for inspections, repairs, walkthroughs, photographs, whatever.

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  • Tom V.
    OP
    Torrington, CT · Member since 2013 · 26 posts · 4 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Max T.:

    Why do landlords allow tenants to refuse showings, walkthroughts, etc...? 

    Let's not forget who owns the property!

    A good lease outlines how a landlord can enter a property. Usually it is with 24 hours written notice. This can be for inspections, repairs, walkthroughs, photographs, whatever.

     The law.

    In my state, a tenant cannot unreasonably refuse a landlord entry for any of your above stated reasons. (and more)

    However, if they do, what is the remedy?

    Start a court action and request an order of entry from a judge. Have such order served to tenant, and then enter, possibly requiring the presence of local law enforcement or hire of a state marshal.

    A process which takes weeks and 100's of dollars.

    The ONLY time the rule does not apply is an emergency situation. ie; an emergency repair, such as a broken water pipe, or an emergency medical situation.

    All others, go to court.

    I enter without permission under ANY other circumstance, I get arrested. No matter what.

    The court doesn't care if I own the property or not. Nor do they care what the lease says. After all, also per state law, any provisions of any lease in violation of state law, in whole or in part, are unenforceable.

    Remember, not everyone lives in a lenient state, and has luxuries that you or some others may. Many of us have pour hands tied.

    So, in our case, rather then spend hundreds and 6-8 weeks or more in court to obtain an order of entry, we decided to wait the 3-4 weeks and have a contingency of him providing the pics.

    There was no possible way such order would have been obtained prior to his move anyway, so it would have been a costly, fruitless endeavor.

    Don't believe me, read here:

    https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_830.htm#se...

    And yes, I know Sec 47a-16d (2) does state "as permitted by section 47a-16a" however that is contingent upon Sec 47a-16d (3) "pursuant to a court order"

    Without a court order, the "as permitted by...." cannot be upheld. Trust me. I've been down that road. More than once.

    It is not spelled out in the law itself per say, but it IS established via prior case law and opinions. Which I could link to, but would rather not.

    Sorry for the lengthy reply. Just though I'd illuminate some of the troubles that are region-specific.

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  • Max T.
    Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    9y

    Maybe you're right but I disagree.

    Giving notice does not = asking permission.

    That's why I have a set of keys too.

    1Reply
  • Mindy JensenPro Member
    BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    9y

    @Tom V. , you said you have no forwarding address. That doesn't matter for returning security deposit or providing an accounting of any money spent.

    You simply send it to his last known address, in this case your unit, and when it arrives, you take it and keep it - UNOPENED - in a folder as proof that you tried to provide an accounting of how it was spent in accordance with the state laws. If they do not provide a new address, that isn't YOUR fault.

    [email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #261
    BiggerPockets
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