Property Manager · Sebastopol, CA · Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 0 votes
We have a tenant who isn't leaving after his mother passed away. He is an older man in his 50's who was living with his mother in the apartment. We didn't know he was living there and he was never put on the lease nor did he pay rent. After his mother died he asked for more time to clear out all his things and after over three months, still will not leave and does not pay rent. We hope to get an eviction started, but the legal professionals tell us it will take possibly months for an eviction to go through.
While we wait for the eviction to be processed, which may take months, do we have to pay for his garbage and water as on the original lease? or since he is not on the lease can we shut those things off? Also, we don't know who is paying the electric. Is there a squatter law that applies here, does an eviction really apply?
What are our responsibilities as landlords while we wait until we can get our turn in eviction court?
Any and all ideas would be helpful. Thanks so much for reading.
Is he handicapped in any way you can tell? If so, you may be able to get adult services involved to help assist him in a transition to a new group home or residence.
You would start be calling the County Office and explain that he lived with his mama who recently passed away and he does not seem able to take the steps to function by himself, find a new home, etc. They may help him.
Also, maybe ask if he has other siblings or relatives as they may be able to help him transition.
Hi Tracy! Sorry to hear about your surprise tenant. I'm not sure about the laws in your state especially since covid has made everything extra complicated. You might consider offering cash for keys and see if that might motivate him to move on. Or maybe see if he'll sign a lease with you? I'm totally jumping to conclusions but there might be something in his financial or criminal records that necessitated his mother essentially hiding him from you since he would have needed a background check. Your situation is unique and hopefully someone here can be off better help since many on here are from your area. Best of luck!
Is he handicapped in any way you can tell? If so, you may be able to get adult services involved to help assist him in a transition to a new group home or residence.
You would start be calling the County Office and explain that he lived with his mama who recently passed away and he does not seem able to take the steps to function by himself, find a new home, etc. They may help him.
Also, maybe ask if he has other siblings or relatives as they may be able to help him transition.
@Tracy Elmore 50’s is not that old. Lol. But I guess it’s all relative. Anyway, to answer your question, you can try offering him cash for keys like @Kristyn Grimes suggested. However, if he won’t accept that and leave voluntarily, there is no other way to remove him without going through the eviction process based on the facts you described (assuming this property is in your state of California).
Thanks so much for all the helpful ideas. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness on this forum.
We did offer him a very good cash for keys situation, but he didn't take advantage of it, we even offered a storage unit for his things! Thanks for the reminder @Kristyn Grimes and @Kyle J.
We are in contact with his sisters who also have not had any luck helping him.
I am resigned to waiting out the process, but am having trouble understanding just how much support we have to do for the apartment during this time - do we have to pay all his utilities too?
It may be that he has some mental health issues that are serious enough to have the county step in. That is a really helpful tip, thanks @Lynnette E.
Indeed 50 is not so old! Thanks again for the sanity check. I guess we could just turn the place into a condo and hand it over to him, it might be cheaper in the long run. :-)