Tenant breaking lease?
our tenant just told us they cannot pay the rent they will be moving out as soon as they can and to use the deposit as rent. the deposit was less than the rent and they owe late charges from previous months. what can we do now?
Answers:
If it was really a lease (signed and delivered) you do not have to give them time to move but until you have the unit re-rented. you are entitled to rent for everyday that the unit remains empty, Assuming that you are actively trying to rent it out again. File an eviction notice NOW!! and get them out, you
are loosing money everyday
You are likely going to have to sue them in small claims court to obtain the money that you are entitled to but you may also be able to get punitive damages (extra money) if you can prove (at 51%) likely hood they had intended to defraud you by moving out so quickly and using the cleaning deposit as a way of obtaining cheap rent for a month.
File a lawsuit in small claims court.
Your only recourse is to take legal action. They have (I assume) broken a contract and you are entitled to damages.
However, given that they are behind with the rent, please think very carefully before pursuing them through the courts. You may end up getting less than attorney's fees. Having said that, my dad was in business and he always took people to court who didn't pay. It is a small town and word gets round pretty quickly. He had to do it twice in his business career. Do you have the option of taking them to small claims court? Just bear in mind that, as renters, they probably have very little in the way of attachable assets. Do they have jobs? If only one (or no-one) is working you are going to be hard-pressed to get anything.
If the late fees and what they currently owe is more than the deposit, give them 24hrs to move out! Dont let them owe you even more! I agree with small claims court and when the judge rules in your favor you can use that Judgement againts them and report them to the credit agencies. Needless to say, it will be very difficult for them to ever rent again. Be warned, sometimes they will never be able to pay you.
Let them know in writing how much is owed, and if they don't pay up, take them to court.
weigh your options, if they truly can`t afford to pay, you should be relieved that they didn`t carry this on for months and months and owe you even more..some will tell you to go to court but is it worth it to you? you might be better off to get them out and rent it out to better tenants instead of dragging this out in court and end up getting ten bucks a month..also don`t let them use the security deposit for rent, get them out a.s.a.p and then check for damages so that you don`t end up with more bills, then when everything checks out with them getting out, keep the security for what they owe you.
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