All Forum Posts by: Tim Baldwin

Lease termination may be necessary when the home is uninhabitable and significant repairs need to be made for an extended period of time. But also look at your lease to see if there are any provisions on point. 

If they signed together as joint tenants, they are joint and severly liable for the tenancy obligations. Your lease agreement is going to control your situation, unless your state statutes have something on point (unlikely to your situation though). If the husband leaves early, he is likely in violation of the lease agreement and remains liable to pay rent while the tenancy remains in effect. If the parties want to terminate his interest but not her interest, but she does not qualify to pay rent alone, you have to determine whether you are going to allow him to terminate his interest or not. If you do not, and she stays but fails to pay rent, you have to proceed with giving proper notice to pay, failure of which entitles you to file an eviction. For her sake, keeping the eviction off her record is likely of interest to her. 

Your state laws may have a provision on point but maybe not. Then it's up to your lease agreement. Notifying the tenant about an HOA may not be enough. The lease should state that the tenant is obligated to comply with HOA rules. That said, if the tenant caused damages, the tenant can be held liable for the repair costs. The $75 fee may small in comparison to repair costs. Best wishes.

Answer depends on the cause of the lock defect. If it's a landlord obligation, you are responsible for the cost of the remedy. If it's a tenant obligation, you aren't (unless your state laws still obligate you :)

Verify with the locksmith the cause of the defect (if possible to determine) and the cost of the service. 

Your state laws will dictate next steps. The judgment is just an order stating they owe the money. Now you have to collect. I recommend that you talk to a licensed debt collection company or a law firm on collection action. Best wishes. 

In Florida, this situation falls under our Unlawful Detainer statute. Your state likely has a similar statute, which may enable you to simply filing your complaint for removal with the sheriff's office or by filing a legal action in court to remove them. Either way, you need to take the legal steps to obtain exclusive possession. Best wishes.

In Florida you can put the advanced rent in a separate account (per F.S. 83.49), and when upon the accrual of rent on the due date, you transfer the money from the account to your operating account. If he can pay all 15 months up front, that is your financial security (at least for the 15 months). If his income situation doesn't change though, you'd need to ensure that he vacates at the end of the lease term if he can't pay all rent up front again. Best wishes. 

This is certainly a question that involves legal issues. I recommend that you reach out to your landlord lawyer. In general, a tenant is responsible for damages caused to a property, and even disabled tenants who qualify for reasonable accommodation and who alter the premises to meet their needs are responsible to put the property back into its original condition at their cost. It sounds like the yarn has been unwound already in your situation, so whether you have any remedies or not is a question you'll need to seek legal consultation for. Best wishes. 

What area of practice--Landlord-Tenant? Closings? Buy-Sale Contracts? Other?

Contact an attorney in the State the property is located in and get legal advice, as this is a legal question either pursuant to the contractual terms and state law (whether statutory or case law).