Tenants not moved out 2 days after lease ended!

Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 96 posts · 15 votes

Our tenants have so much stuff to move and it's just the couple loading it all up, that they are still working on moving out two days after their lease ended. They should be done tomorrow from what it looks like.

I'm curious if anyone has had this issue and how did you handle it? Can you legally charge them rent for those two days and remove it from their deposit?

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Arlan Potter

Investor/Accountant/Builder · Meno, OK · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 918 votes

Sure, just be thankful they are taking their stuff. I get plenty of tenants that leave the junk.

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Arlan Potter
Investor/Accountant/Builder · Meno, OK · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 918 votes
8y
Sure, just be thankful they are taking their stuff. I get plenty of tenants that leave the junk.
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Mike Webb
Real Estate Investor · Hagerstown, MD · Member since 2013 · 276 posts · 107 votes
8y
Are the residents ending their lease on good terms? If so, maybe asking them if they need help getting moved out might be worthwhile. If they were good residents and moving on, I would consider having my $15/hour guy go over and help move them out faster so I could get the unit turned. Not to mention, it comes across as some customer service. If they are leaving on bad terms (I assume they aren’t since you said there was a deposit to pull from), I’d offer them $250 cash to be gone and out of there by the end of the day.
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Bryan Devitt
Contractor · Oxford, MA · Member since 2018 · 807 posts · 745 votes
8y
What does the lease say and what does the law say? You might be able to get a prorated amount for the couple days or you might be able to get the whole month.
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Braden Hobbs
OP
Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 96 posts · 15 votes
8y
The lease doesn't specify a fee for not leaving the property on time (our future lease will).
Luckily we are selling the property and not trying to move a new tenant in.
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Amy Beth
Rental Property Investor · Edison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 753 posts · 565 votes
8y
I would find out what court papers would need to be filed in your area to get them out legally. Then I would threaten them that if they are not out today you will be forced to go to the court house to file these papers, which will hurt their ability to rent in the future. Hopefully they will then see that you are not a pushover and they will not want to ruin their record and they will move out ASAP. The fact that is is just a couple moving is not an excuse to not move out. They could rent a moving truck, load it up in on day, and be out. Having movers or friends to help is ideal but is not a requirement to move. You are giving them too much of a break by accepting their lame excuse for not being all moved out.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
8y
At a minimum, tenants remain responsible for rent, utilities, and care of the home until they vacate or are evicted.
In the future, your lease should include a "holdover fee". Mine is 3x the normal rent, prorated daily.
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Bryan Devitt
Contractor · Oxford, MA · Member since 2018 · 807 posts · 745 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Braden Hobbs:

The lease doesn't specify a fee for not leaving the property on time (our future lease will).
Luckily we are selling the property and not trying to move a new tenant in.
It may not state anything about leaving but does it state that the rent is due on x day of the month or if you're living there for xx days of the month then you're responsible for the entire months rent? Or even better does the law state that if someone is in the property for am th day of that month that they are responsible for that months rent?
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Jim Adrian
Architect · Papillion, NE · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 840 votes
8y
@Nathan Gesner
Are you able to share your "holdover fee" language?
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
8y
@Jim Adrian PM sent.
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Braden Hobbs
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Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2014 · 96 posts · 15 votes
8y
Update:
They are out now but left the yard and house a mess. I'm guessing their entire deposit will be used for those 2 items.

As for collecting rent or a fee for being in the house for 2 extra days, I'm not going to even bother unless they have money left in their deposit I could pull it from. The time and money it would take to go to court and get a judgment in my favor isn't worth the couple hundred dollars.
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