Should I/Can I get rid of my tenants?

Question

I acquired tenants when I purchased my house in October. Their lease ends November 30th. Within the last two weeks, Section 8 has reviewed their income and they are now being asked to pay more than double what they were paying before.

I gave them a lease to sign around 10 days ago and they still haven’t signed it. (Which I’m pretty sure has to do with the amount increasing) Can I revoke my offer to renew and if so, how since I only have around 15 days left until they would need to vacate?

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Yes, I should have stated that more clearly.

When you give them notice, assign a deadline and a consequence for not meeting the deadline.

Dear Tenant,

Your lease is set to expire on November 30, 2019. I provided you with a new lease but you haven't indicated whether you intend to renew or vacate the property. I expect your signed lease or notice of termination no later than November 21st, 5:00PM. If I do not hear from you by the deadline, I will rescind my offer of renewal and your lease will terminate on November 30, 2019.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Jon Reed · Answer

Agree with all of @Nathan G. comments. Just one addition, never give a tenant a lease that you have already signed and they have not signed. If you do give them a lease to review make sure your signature is not on it because it is not legally binding until both parties have signed it.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

@Asya Evans When you give tenants a document to sign, always give them a deadline to complete and return it. I have to remind my employees of this all the time.

Contact your tenants and let them know - in writing - that they have until Thursday at 5PM to sign the new lease or give you written notice of intent to terminate on November 30th.

Steve K. · Answer

@Asya Evans If you haven’t, I would take the time to read the entire landlord/tenant handbook for your jurisdiction, or whatever the equivalent is which I believe is called tenant rights, laws and protections in CT  and can be found on the CT dot gov website. CT has some pretty strict guidelines when it comes to non-renewing leases with tenants, especially as it relates to Section 8. Reading That should give you a better idea of your options. For example you will probably need to give them at least 60 days notice of non-renewal (don’t quote me on that though). My brother has some Section 8 rentals in CT and he often finds just calling the HUD office to be helpful when he has questions about raising rent, enforcing lease violations etc. with his Sec. 8’s. Also be careful about losing tenants this time of year, as it can be difficult to find quality tenants during the holidays.

Patti Robertson · Answer

SEC 8 requires the tenant use 30% of their income for rent plus utilities. No matter where the tenant goes, the amount they have to pay will be the same. Your rent amount does not influence this at all, their reported income does.

Asya Evans · Answer

@Nathan G. Thank you!!

Asya Evans · Answer

@Nathan G. Thank you Nathan. I will remember to do this going forward. If they give me neither, does that mean I have to give them notice to quit/eviction?

Should I/Can I get rid of my tenants?

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