All Forum Posts by: Amber G.

Weird thing is that I have quite the local reputation for being a pretty cut-throat landlord not afraid to send non-curable 30-day notices, evicting old ladies (with significant lease violations) in the middle of Covid and garnishing wages. This situation just hits weird on the risk/reward scale. I definitely value feedback on this as I am leaning towards the eviction.

HI all,

I have a tenant that received MERA (Montana emergency Rental Assistance) Covid funds to pay rent January-June of this year. After getting verification from the state that they would pay the rent difference, she moved into a larger house with a significant rent increase in April. However, the state required her to reapply for the assistance as it was a new address. The tenant thought she had submitted the application after the move, but turns out she hadn't. She finally (after I had to tell her it wasn't in the system) successfully submitted mid-June only for it to be rejected the end of August as she didn't include the required documents AND she didn't respond to their request for the docs within the allowed time. Here we are in September with the state saying she needs to start a new application with the same 6+ week wait and the tenant hasn't even gotten her paperwork together. Tenant takes great care of the property, but seems to have NO sense of urgency 5 months later. I sent a 3-day notice last week and can file for eviction starting Monday. Collecting on a judgement for the now $6700 in back rent may take a while, but I think it could be done OR I can risk the tenant messing up her application (or no longer being eligible) a 3rd time and waiting another 6+ weeks (and another month or two of missed rent) for nothing. I have a list of qualified potential tenants eager to move into this property so filling any resulting vacancy would not be an issue.  

Thoughts on waiting a 3rd time or getting the eviction started next week?

My local Ace Hardware carries these for about $19 each. I have these knobs in my house and really like them. Very easy to change out, just be sure to get everything tight while not stripping the screws.

Read your promissory note carefully. I just refinanced a commercial loan I had through Stockman to another bank. The good part was that the Stockman loan was relatively easy to get, but I refi'd to get out from under a teeny, tiny loan provision that allowed them to call the note is at anytime they doubted by financial stability for any reason.

This. In Montana this is how it works. I actually was prodded by a lawyer I hired to set up estate documents to put my properties in a LLC that didn't know about this important legal consequence. I live in a small town and need to be able to do my own evictions. So, I keep properties in my name and have an extra large umbrella liability policy.

I've seen that clause as part of condo/apartment associations. If the landlord doesn't own the whole building, he/she might be required  to have that in the lease to comply with other rules.

Still not finished with the process, but I did want to post an update in case any other MT LLs end up in eviction court. When I filed the eviction lawsuit the clerk of the court gave me a message from the judge that legal aid was proving free lawyers to ALL tenants in eviction cases due to COVID. I'd read the law very carefully so filed anyway. I received word from the clerk today that they had received evidence of service and also info that legal aid had refused to help my tenant as she in fact has no legal defense due to the way I worded the paperwork. She has until Nov. 2nd to file her answer so not sure whether she will move out before then or still take it to a hearing, but although it's not a done deal, I'm feeling less apprehensive about the outcome. 

Yeah, I hate being the bad guy, but am committed to doing what’s best for my business. I know she’s working outside of the home. She even sent it to me in writing. Her online friends have convinced her that no evictions can take place, but none of them have apparently read what the moratoriums actually say.

This is helpful, although not particularly encouraging. I feel like I’m pretty familiar with the Landlord-Tenant Act as I was successful solo in court (judge said she’d never seen such a strong lease) on one other eviction two years ago. The tenant sent a letter (I almost think that she thinks that sending it “certified” makes it some sort of legal demand) accusing me of “vehicle discrimination” and stating needing a minimum of 90 days, but also refusing to move in inclement weather. 90 date is In December, pretty sure the whole winter will be inclement weather. 
I have been careful to only communicate via written means. I’ve only owned the property for a year, but she doesn’t realize that long-term tenancy doesn’t give her any more rights than a shorter-term month-to-month tenant.

I hope it’s a good choice to not respond to her letter as I’m not required to and I feel like sticking to the “no reason, termination of month-to-month” is my safest tactic. If it weren’t for the nastiness I would almost feel bad as her delaying will reduce her options significantly as the few vacancies in town will not last. 

Greetings BP,

I have a month-to-month tenant in rural Montana that is getting nasty about me on Facebook after I properly served a no reason 30-day notice to not renew her month-to-month lease. (When she asked my reason via text I carefully just stated that I needed the property back.) I also included a notice regarding a family member of hers that had moved in that is not an authorized occupant, but she stated that the individual would vacate in a few days. It is my understanding that the CDC eviction moratorium does not apply in her case as if she doesn't vacate I will file for eviction due to hold-over tenancy, not non-payment. Also concerning the Governor's order, she via text message mentioned that she is working and therefore in my opinion cannot be "sheltering at home". I gave her a list of four local apartment complexes/villa complexes accepting applications, but she feels entitled to a "house", not an "apartment".

I'm not excited to make enemies in my small town, but her behavior in this is not surprising <wink, wink>. I have read both moratoriums carefully and do not see how they apply to her situation.

Any advice on this?