tenant paid deposit and disappeared

[Christina Venegas]

Can the house be rented to someone else if the person who was supposed to move in paid only the deposit but then disappeared and cannot be found anywhere? He was supposed to move in at the beginning of July; the property management company is trying to contact him but has been unable to reach him. Can we proceed to rent the house to another tenant, or must we wait, given that there is a signed contract stipulating he has one month to move in?

[Drew Sygit]

Quote from @Christina Venegas:

Can the house be rented to someone else if the person who was supposed to move in paid only the deposit but then disappeared and cannot be found anywhere? He was supposed to move in at the beginning of July; the property management company is trying to contact him but has been unable to reach him. Can we proceed to rent the house to another tenant, or must we wait, given that there is a signed contract stipulating he has one month to move in?

You PMC shouldn't have accepted a "deposit"!

We got burned on that a couple of decades ago.

We require a nonrefundable "Holding Fee" and signed Holding Fee Agreement that clearly states a 2 week (default) deadline.

Also state that if they don't move in by the deadline, they forfeit the Holding Fee.