Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 78 posts · 30 votes
I have a student rental in tallahassee which lately has devolved into lots of drama between the girls living there. They have a collective lease agreement for $1500/month for the house they're in.
One girl decided to abandon the lease mid-term and not come back to Tallahassee because of issues with the other girls. This is the first month where we haven't received her portion of the rent.
I'm wondering what options there are that we can pursue in this situation beyond eviction. My understanding is eviction has to fall on all of them and we can't selectively pursue one for what is a collective commitment. I could be wrong but curious what options there might be to get creative without breaking the lease from our side.
Any advice from those familiar with Florida housing law would be super helpful
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y
@Dean Fiacco
Pursue the full amount from all tenants. In the future do not allow separate payments. One payment and they can Venmo each other. Advise the remaining tenants to recruit a new roommate for you to screen.
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y
@Dean Fiacco
Pursue the full amount from all tenants. In the future do not allow separate payments. One payment and they can Venmo each other. Advise the remaining tenants to recruit a new roommate for you to screen.
Real Estate Agent · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2014 · 51 posts · 16 votes
5y
@Dean Fiacco I’m sure that you get higher returns because you’re self managing. But these are the exact type of scenarios when a property manager could settle this for you
@Dean Fiacco In the future, if you don't already, I would make sure that your lease explicitly says that all tenants are jointly and severally responsible for the rent. I would also make sure all tenants have a parent(s) as a cosigner. This ensures that all tenants and their parents are collectively responsible if any one tenant defaults.
I usually start by sending an email to all tenants with the balance owed and asking when we will receive the payment. If it escalates without receiving payment I will email everyone again as well the parents who are cosigners. I haven't had a problem yet that has not been resolved by going this far in the process but if needed a next step I would probably indicate to all parties that I planned to pursue collection in the courts and this would affect all of their credit history, etc..
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
5y
@Dean Fiacco time to teach the tenant a lesson about how contract law works. Send her and the other tenants a notice of late payment. Ideally have it come from your attorney. Hopefully you made it clear to her when she moved out that she is still responsible for rent through the lease term. Hopefully you had all their parents cosign.
Assuming the girls picked this roommate to live with and signed the lease jointly, they are responsible for her portion of rent. It sucks, but that is how being an adult works. Make sure they clearly understand that someone is paying the rent or they will all be pursued in court.
Real Estate Agent · Winston Salem, NC · Member since 2014 · 486 posts · 303 votes
5y
@Dean Fiacco hi Dean did she have a co-signer for her portion? I know someone landlords to student tenants require their parents to be on the lease? If so I would contact her co-signer.
Multifamily Syndicator · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
@Dean Fiacco I'd suggest you tackle this issue from a Collective Lease approach. Since the girls all signed one lease then it is irrelevant if one lessor has decided to leave. They all are responsible for the lease and the rent payments, thereafter.
Another trick is to tell the girl who left that you will write her cosigners OR just write the co-signers (usually the parents) and things move pretty quickly after that! Hope it works out for you.
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 78 posts · 30 votes
5y
Update: decided to get a bit creative and offered a 2month rent concession to the remaining 2 to sign an 18 month lease at the same rate.
2 month concession will be netted out over 6 months keeping them at same rent level as now but giving them 6 months to find a new roommate before resuming at the standard rate for another year