What’s a landlord to do?

Nobody likes to see an episode of Cops being re-enacted on their property and it is assuredly upseting to see that a tenant has put your property at risk, but it is important to  realize that you must still follow the law with regard to the terms and conditions of the lease.  Here are a things to consider before taking any concrete action.

• If you are lucky enough to get to the property before the police leave, try to find out the nature of the offense without interfering with the police as they work.
• If you can, get the detective’s card and or a copy of the incident/offense tracking number so that you can secure a police report.
• Try to find out if the police have damaged the property so that you can take actions to repair the damage.  The police will not reimburse you for the damage to the property, but you may still have recourse against your tenant.
• If you have a camera with you take pictures of the damage so that you will have evidence if you need them for court.
• Once the police leave, determine if the door can be properly secured.  The Police have a tend to use methods of entry that could leave the door inoperable.  Sometimes they will remedy this by nailing the door shut for you.  Whatever happens, you should make sure that your property is secured.
• If you have to replace the door and the lock, leave a note for the tenant so that they know how to get in touch with you, if they make bond and need to get back in to the unit.  You do not have a right to remove the tenant immediately simply because they are arrested.

Once the drama has died down, as a landlord you are left with a decision about what to do next.  The first question is whether you would like to continue the landlord tenant relationship.  If you do not wish to continue the relationship you should assess whether you have grounds to evict the tenant or not. Hopefully, your lease addresses drug and criminal activity on the premises.  If it does not, consider including a provision prohibiting illegal activity of any kind in all of your leases and/or updating your rules to include similar provisions in the interim.

If the tenant does not return within a reasonable time because they are unable to make bond, consult the terms of your lease concerning abandonment and/or non-payment of rent.  If the tenant has not returned in time to pay rent, issue a timely notice of termination and immediately follow up with an eviction as soon as the termination notice expires. If the tenant has no plans to return or cannot be released, send a notice of termination based on the abandonment, wait 14 days and file an eviction.

But what happens if the tenant comes back?

If your tenant returns, it is important to remember that the tenant may not be guilty of any offense.  Have a conversation with the tenant about his or her future plans. Perhaps the offense was a misdemeanor with no real jail time likely to be imposed.  Remember that if the tenant is innocent and you do not evict them, you may gain a loyal tenant for years to come.

Today’s Topic: Abandonment by The Tenant

Sometimes tenants for one reason or another need to be away from the property for extended periods of time. Sometimes the tenant may be traveling. Other tenants simply decide to leave the unit permanently before the lease is up. Whatever the reason for these extended absences, the landlord will probably want to be informed. Unfortunately, tenants often do not tell the landlord that they will be leaving.

Abandonment can put the landlord in a tough position because it is often hard to determine whether the tenant has left the premises for good. One way to avoid any question about whether the property has been abandoned is by including a clause in the lease that requires the tenant to give notice of absences from the property that will extend beyond 14 days.

The new landlord tenant act provides the landlord some recourse if the tenant leaves the property for more than two weeks without giving notice. First, the landlord can take legal action against the tenant for damages caused by the tenants failure to give notice of an extended absence. Second, the landlord may go into the unit if it is necessary while the tenant is gone. Third, the landlord may consider the lease terminated and re-let the unit to another tenant. Finally, if the landlord finds that the tenant has left personal items behind in the unit, there is no duty to store or safeguard the tenant’s possessions. As such, the landlord can throw the items away or liquidate them as desired.

§ 35-9A-423. Remedies for absence, nonuse and abandonment.

(a) If a rental agreement requires the tenant to give notice to the landlord of an anticipated extended absence in excess of 14 days pursuant to Section 35-9A-304 and the tenant willfully fails to do so, the landlord may recover actual damages from the tenant.

(b) During any absence of a tenant in excess of 14 days, the landlord may enter the dwelling unit at times reasonably necessary.

(c) If a tenant abandons the dwelling unit, the landlord shall make reasonable efforts to rent it at a fair rental. But such duty shall not take priority over the landlord’s right to first rent other vacant units. If the landlord rents the dwelling unit for a term beginning before the expiration of the rental agreement, it terminates as of the date of the new tenancy. If the landlord fails to use reasonable efforts to rent the dwelling unit at a fair rental or if the landlord accepts the abandonment as a surrender, the rental agreement is deemed to be terminated by the landlord as of the date the landlord has notice of the abandonment. If the tenancy is from month-to-month or week-to-week, the term of the rental agreement for this purpose is deemed to be a month or a week, as the case may be.

(d) If a tenant leaves property in the unit more than 14 days after termination pursuant to this chapter, the landlord has no duty to store or protect the tenant’s property in the unit and may dispose of it without obligation.