Rental Property Investor · Alexandria, MN · Member since 2018 · 45 posts · 44 votes
Tenant text me last week Thursday saying they are moving out on April 30th. They sent a text message stating that there are plumbing issues with drains not draining (first time they have ever told me about these issues) and at the end of the message they said that they were waiting to find a new place before they let me know and now they are moving out. They are 6 months into there 12 month lease. How can I handle the deposit once they leave. Can I keep the deposit for them just leaving with a weeks notice only and with the lease still active?
@Anthony Wick we are caught in the land of speculation. "refusal to allow entry" to fix the problem. "destruction of property" if they damaged drains. We can go on and on speculating.
I agree on listing the unit right away, and I am hopeful that I am not causing confusion- I am not saying pursue the eviction to the exclusion of remedy. I am saying, fork over the nominal fee to file it.
@Anthony Wick, I know that you and @Joe Splitrock are the furthest things from lazy landlords. And I don't disagree with not filing- I just went on a bit of a tear when people shrug and say "don't bother with the courts"
You can always file and eviction- whether you sustain it is a different matter.
@Patrick M.. I get that. But it is April 29. You'd be paying about $75-100 to file on something that won't even be looked at by the court before you have to cancel the eviction because they moved out.
And I totally feel your anger and energy on all of this! I've had a few discussions with people on BP about the same thing. "It's not worth it". Oh yes it is. It actually takes me about 10 minutes to file for an eviction with my areas online system. The longest I think I've waited is like 6 days to file after the deadline was reached. Now, collecting after you win judgment is a whole other discussion.
@Anthony Wick they text him last week. $50 for me and I would drop it in a heartbeat.
Again- when I interview my prospective tenants I make sure they are aware of effects of an eviction on their record and that I will be running both a credit and a record check. They initiate it through Cozy and they get a report simultaneous to mine- so they know the reality of it. Perhaps this is why I don't encounter this... I don't know.
Am I obsessive. Yes. But $50 is a small price to pay to put a mark on this guys record who decided to lie to me and up and break a lease without even a months notice.
@Anthony Wick, I know that you and @Joe Splitrock are the furthest things from lazy landlords. And I don't disagree with not filing- I just went on a bit of a tear when people shrug and say "don't bother with the courts"
You can always file and eviction- whether you sustain it is a different matter.
In the case of non-payment or other serious issues, I believe landlords should move to evict a tenant. In this case, the tenant is not behind on rent. If you serve them notice to quit and they leave, then you can't collect future rents. In this case, I would be pursuing May rent and a releasing fee. How can you win a judgement if the tenant has a "notice to quit" letter and left the property? You can't break a lease (eviction) and enforce a lease. That is what I am getting at. If a tenant wants to break a lease with me, they are paying rent until a new tenant is placed.
You may want to take this opportunity to re-evaluate your lease. Taking your state's L/T laws into consideration first, you are also bound by the lease. So if your lease doesn't address any consequences for such tenant conduct, it will be difficult to enforce your states laws.
@Aaron Harren I have seen a lot of advice to file an eviction. That would not be wise on several fronts. First, you have no grounds to evict, you have grounds to collect. These are different matters but an important distinction. Second, by order of the governor, you cannot currently evict unless it meets very specific reasons. Your situation does not meet any legitimate reason now or at regular times to evict.
You can, however, take them to small claims court once you know your damages. Get their address to return any unused deposit (you need this to sue them in the future) Play nice until you get the correct address, then let them know they will be responsible for rent until you rent the place to someone else and any damages or cleaning costs when they move.
Try to see if you can fix the leaky drain and have them stay. I doubt this will happen but give it a try after you inform them of what they will owe.
You need to document well what you do for repairs, cleaning, and to find a new tenant. You should start marketing the property immediately and document it so you can prove to the courts you did all you could to minimize damages.
According state law (MN) you must give them written notice as to the disposition of their security deposit postmarked no more than 21 days after they move out. Do not skip this step or you can use it for rent. For example, you can't just say to your self they owe me way more than the deposit so I'm keeping it. You must send them a letter detailing what they owe you at the time and that you are going to apply the security deposit toward what they owe. This is very important or your potential court case and to make sure you don't get on the wrong side of the law. The penalty for not sending this letter is double what you withheld. Which could mean you would owe them 2X the deposit. The statue is 504B.178
As a recap get their new address then use the law to pressure them to stay or least pay you as much of your damages as possible. I'm no attorney but it does sound they owe you all damages, it just might not be realistic to collect all of them.
I agree with @Joe Splitrock. Take pictures, document expenses, and rent your unit as quickly as possible. I'm not sure how the eviction process would work without a tenant in the unit.
I too have had this situation over the week. My tenant text me an urgent message to call. They have been amazing tenants and she explained she needed to leave immediately due to no income. I did try to work out a payment plan and reduced rent over the next several months but they did not feel this was possible. It's a long story but her husband is stuck in Pakistan and his businesses there have been closed due to Covid. He has no income and he cannot return here due to immigration changes. They have no income, she is scared and living in a foreign country alone. She initially stated she would move out after 30 days but suddenly decided to leave tomorrow.
I will charge them for May's rent, cleaning fees and any additional work that needs to be completed prior to renting to another tenant from their security deposit. The tenants agreed this was acceptable. My listing went up immediately and hopefully I will have the unit rented in a couple of weeks to another tenant. The financial impact to me hopefully will be minimal. Moving forward quickly will hopefully mitigate any financial difficulties.
We are in unprecedented times and being flexible, understanding and compassionate is key. I suspect there will me more stories on BP over the coming months of tenants leaving swiftly as the economy struggles and jobs are slow to return.
Their excuse about the drains is not acceptable. You have to be notified and have the ability to repair the issue.
From there, you have to decide how to handle this; For sure this is a loss, because you have to spend money on unit turnover, down time from leasing, etc..
Normally, I try not to engage in battles. They are mentally costly, plus there are other risks. Such as a tenant spewing venom about you on the internet, a tenant purposely damaging a place, or inviting a City inspector to your property.
Your recourse might include trying to enforce the lease in court (small claims), keeping their security deposit and treating this as a default and reporting it on their credit. Avoid activity that does not add to your bottom line.
I'd probably have a phone conversation with them, stating that they have a lease and you have the right to fix their problem. And that a seven day move out notice is not acceptable. Maybe agree to let them to buy out their lease with one month's rent and you'll send the plumber over to fix their drain.
Finally, despite the loss, it is a good thing you're getting this type of tenant out of your building: A tenant who doesn't abide by the lease or give your common courtesy / respect.
.....take their financial responsibility out of their deposit and send anything else they owe to collections that will report this on the tenants' credit record (you may never collect but at least it will show up on their credit report for a long time).
Can you still in CA report negative credit on a tenant or hand over the account for a collection agency to collect without going to court and getting a judgement against them through small claims action?
You should already know some of these answers because you run a business in the state you are renting in and you supplied the lease. Right? There are going to be a lot of spinning wheels without any traction in the comments until you provide the following answers. Actually, by answering the following, you will know what to do and be able to chart a course of positive action. Good luck.
What does your lease say about breach of the terms?
What do your state laws say about breaking a lease?
What does your state law say about keeping a security deposit?
What does your state law say about keeping a last month lease and using it before the end of the term?
What is your state doing right now with covid and housing courts?
Is there a bigger issue than the plumbing and did you try to talk to your residents about it?
In the middle of the current crisis, (covid, maybe you've heard about it) you may not have any legal recourse right now. Again, check what your state is doing right now. I would probably try to work it out with the resident - and fix that plumbing issue RIGHT AWAY. First, to show good faith that you care about the property and your resident (and build a papertrail of a quick response), second, to prevent the plumbing issue from becoming a bigger problem than the move out. If you are 6 months into the lease you probably have your hands on your most current marketing photos and pictures of the unit. Get that marketing ready to go just in case.
But really, try to work it out, fix the plumbing, AND give us a better idea of what your lease and the local and state laws say what you can and cannot do here.
A conversation seems vital here. Landlording is a relationship with your tenants. The mentioned move out explanation seems arbitrary. Dig deeper. Also, share what what actions you will have to take "according to the lease" and what adverse affects this will have on their financials and them as a tenant going forward. This might change their mind or grant you further understanding to what the real cause is, giving you the opportunity to solve or adjust. Best of luck.
@Aaron Harren check your state law. Oregon lease break fee is only 1 1/2 months rent. Sadly, landlords take all the risk these days. What does your lease contract state?
Be glad they are moving out, eviction would be a waste of money and without merit since they are leaving. They are responsible for rent until you are able to fill the unit. Give them a deposit receipt within 21 days even if the amount is estimated (due to the unit not being filled yet). Pursuing collections is court is a losing proposition (collection companies buy this debts for pennies on the dollar for a reason). Your time is more valuable than chasing around a collection of someone like this.