Tricky Tenant situation
So I have a building that has about 4 evictions going on right now so I can't afford another eviction. This building is in the greater Chicagoland area. I just renovated a unit and two people move-in. One of the tenant's credit scores was ok but the other tenants was high and he made good money. These two roommates got into an argument over the weekend. The tenant with the higher credit score and better paying job calls me and says that he wants out of the lease bc he can't live with the other roommate anymore and the other roommate said he would quit paying rent. I tell him no way unless both of them sign a termination agreement. He then says that if I don't get him out of the lease, he will re-enlist with the army and be deployed so I have to "legally" let him out of the lease and cant report anything to the credit bureaus cause he is deployed now... The tenant with the bad credit score will not sign the termination agreement....
What should I do? I just want to give them there a move-in fee and tell them to find another place but the tenant with the bad credit score is going to be hard to get rid of. These people know that the courts are closed and that evictions won't happen until next year. I have 4 evictions in this building and I can't afford other tenants not paying. All and any advice will be appreciated.
The law says "if you have orders for either a pcs or deployment longer than 90 days, federal law allows you to terminate your lease. Federal law 50 U.S.C. app section 535 known as the servicemember civil relief act (scra) provides the right to men and women in the military and their families" - this is what the tenant texts me. He says he will volunteer for any open slots if I don't cancel the lease.
@Samed Arif I’d let him re enlist. Call his bluff. And maybe it isn’t a bluff. But if he enlists and leaves, you are in the same situation as if you let him out and the other guy stays.
@Ryan B. Also, if he terminated the lease, then there is no lease. I’d try to find out if the lease termination is for the whole lease or if it is just for him. If it’s all or nothing, then there would be no lease. And I don’t think the cdc moratorium applies to situations where there is no lease, just no payment of an existing lease.
I agree with @Ryan B - Call his bluff. It actually works to your advantage if the wording in the lease states that if any party terminates, the entire lease terminates, then you're fine. Of course, that fact alone won't actually get the other guy out of the unit. It still sounds like the other buy might become gum on your shoe, unfortunately.
Worse case if it terminated, just do your screening and find someone it will work with.
@Samed Arif any idiot willing to reenlist just because of a fight with their roommate...is in for a rude awakening when they don't even get to choose their roommate in the Army. Call his bluff, and make him break the least, haha.
@Samed Arif tell him to re-up. I'm deployed right now and I'd trade my cot and 60 roommates for one bad one and a real apartment back state side. Most likely hell get the other party to agree to break the lease. And if he does ship out you may be able to terminate the entire lease.
I will be editing my lease in the future when using it for multiple parties for this reason! So thanks!
Hey, thanks for the replies everyone just an update on the situation. So the one roommate that was going to re-enlist pays his rent directly to me now besides giving it to the other roommate that he got a fight with. So i am getting half the rent which is better then nothing!
The full rent is due PERIOD...... treat the roommate situations as one tenant that isn't paying the rent. Its not your job to make these people get along or make arrangements to compensate for one that isn't pulling his end of the agreement. You aren't a relationship counselor.
Unless you put these 2 together, then its not your problem. One guys pays and then other doesn't you evict both of them..... its the "good" tenants job to get his roommate to get his act together or they both get kicked out
Follow the lease....early termination clause...... if one wants out, follow the lease and the process to terminate it for both.
If the guys wants to -re-enlist to get out of a lease, he's an idiot.... knock yourself out buddy.....