This scenario came up in the Buy & Hold / Multi-Family / Short Term Rental study group this past Thursday. Wanted to solicit this group's opinions ...

A group member reports that for one of his SFR units, the rent had gone two months late and he was unable to contact the tenant.

Upon physical inspection, the front door was locked, the back door was not. The unit had been ransacked - clothing, etc. strewn about, beds and furniture overturned, ... certain other details are too gross to post. There was other vandalism including epithets being written using marker on appliances and fixtures.

If this were your unit, what would you do first?

(I'll post the owner's actions as the discussion progresses.)

Originally posted by @David Dachtera :

This scenario came up in the Buy & Hold / Multi-Family / Short Term Rental study group this past Thursday. Wanted to solicit this group's opinions ...

A group member reports that for one of his SFR units, the rent had gone two months late and he was unable to contact the tenant.

Upon physical inspection, the front door was locked, the back door was not. The unit had been ransacked - clothing, etc. strewn about, beds and furniture overturned, ... certain other details are too gross to post. There was other vandalism including epithets being written using marker on appliances and fixtures.

If this were your unit, what would you do first?

(I'll post the owner's actions as the discussion progresses.)

 Rent wasn't paid - File Eviction. All the details that followed were irrelevant.

@David Dachtera I'd call the cops, my ins agent, and a locksmith. I know that's three things.

Originally posted by @Bjorn Ahlblad :

@David Dachtera I'd call the cops, my ins agent, and a locksmith. I know that's three things.

 Unfortunately not 1 of those 3 can do anything in this situation. A civil eviction proceeding is the only option.

@David Dachtera

Prior to being late two months, the eviction process should have been started.  Five days past the rent due a five day notice should have been served (Illinois Requirement).  Document the damage with photographs.  Calling the police and acquiring a police report is a good idea, at worst it’s further documentation.  Your going to file suit for eviction and damages.  Two separate issues.

@David Dachtera

So, rent is two months late and the landlord has still not spoken to the tenant? After eviction is file (2 months prior), this person needs to hire a PM.

Originally posted by @Anthony Wick :

@David Dachtera

So, rent is two months late and the landlord has still not spoken to the tenant? After eviction is file (2 months prior), this person needs to hire a PM.

The owner was unable to contact the tenant. 

5-Day notice should have been given as a gentleman above mentioned shortly after the first non-payment of rent, if unable to serve for several days, he should then have been clued in that something was wrong. Then proceed to give the tenant notice via voice-mail, e-mail, text, etc that you will be inspecting the unit 24-Hours after said notice. On inspection, all of these things could have been realized prior to waiting the 2-months. From there, consider the unit abandoned and file eviction/damages. Of course it depends in part on the lease signed with the tenants. 

In no situation ever should a landlord or PM go 2 months without payment of rent or at the very least hearing from the tenant. There are no exceptions to this. Kindness of the heart and confidence in human decency have virtually no place in this business. Be Firm but Reasonable, Pro-Active yet not Pushy. Hoping for other people to do the right thing is one thing, relying on it and basing your business off it is another matter entirely. This is why people go bankrupt and get burned in the business.

@David Dachtera

As far as serving the tenant with a five day notice.  You are required to make multiple attempts.  I use three attempts as a standard.  Document the day and time the attempts were made.  It should very; morning, afternoon, evening, etc.  after that you can post the notice on the building.  Take a picture for documentation of the notice on the building.  File documents with the county courthouse.

Ok ... here's rest of it ...

My feedback to the owner was that he saw the damage and vandalism. This is was a crime scene - he should have called police and asked to have someone come out to take a report.

So, most of you reflected those same thoughts.

What the owner did ...

The owner, effectively, did a "do it yourself eviction". After failing to reach the tenant (she'd changed her number), he changed the locks, cleaned it out, cleaned it up and prepared to re-rent the unit.

Not exactly kosher, I grant you. What's done is done. Lesson in what not to do ...

It sounds like the tenant abandoned the property.  I'd follow the abandoned property laws for your state.

@David Dachtera

Very risky. Hope it goes away quietly.

I'm curious how the landlord knows who trashed the place if he had no contact with the occupants after the event?
And why in the world would someone wait for two months before filing paperwork? Baffles me.

Did they ever find the tenant or call police?.

Originally posted by @John Teachout :

I'm curious how the landlord knows who trashed the place if he had no contact with the occupants after the event?
And why in the world would someone wait for two months before filing paperwork? Baffles me.

Who else would break in, trash their former partner's possessions, write relationship-related epithets in black marker, etc.? When the tenant did finally call to ask about the locks being changed, she explained that her roommate and she had parted on bad terms.

This is not over - the owner faces potential issues due to the do-it-yourself eviction (not legal in IL).