Updated about 4 years ago on . Most recent reply
Stuck In A Mess - Illegal Subletters, Please Help!
Here is my situation.
October 2020, Tenant A moved in.
Approx. April 2021, Tenant A sublets her apartment ILLEGALLY to Tenant B (no landlord approval, lease clearly states it's illegal to sublet).
No rent is given from Tenant A or Tenant B for months.
September 2021, we find out Tenant A was collecting rent from Tenant B but not giving it to us.
By a miracle, we end up collecting every penny that was owed from Tenant A.
October 2021, Tenant A's lease ends.
Tenant B is still in the apartment.
Shocker, they do NOT have good credit and they have a prior eviction on record.
If we want to get them out in today's difficult COVID-19 landlording world, how can we go about it?
Most Popular Reply
Mistake #1 was you should have evicted when they sublet. In most places, the ban on evictions was basically due to non-payment. You could still evict for other reasons.
Allowing Tenant B to stay in the unit basically accepted them as a tenant. If you don't want them as tenants, you need to file for eviction if possible. That may or may not be possible given your location (example: are you required to renew leases in your area?).
FYI, Tenant A could be on the hook for your legal expenses and lost rent since they were the responsible party.
As always, consult a lawyer. The couple hundred you're going to spend can save you money, time, and trouble.