Hello,

I have just last month gone through the same process - I am in new jersey and here is what I did. The day after the tenant informed me she would live out the security and as her last month's rent - i went down to the county court house (never having done this before I had no clue where to go or what to do but did it anyway) and filed paperwork for eveiction and collection of rent - having already sent a letter to the tenant via certified mail that he position was not acceptable. The county where this property is located had a 2-3 week backlog but when the tenant received the court paperwork she called me immediately and we worked out an agreement based on my terms not hers. Regardless of the outcome you have to file. I found out that if a tenant has not paid their rent on time you can file right away - like the next day after whatever grace period you have set. I also could have been awarded double the amount as a poenalty for her using her security payment as last month's rent. My suggestion is to be steady and do the things that will protect you as a landlord regardless of the outcome. Talk is cheap - actions are necessary. I hope this helps. Celeste

I'm not sure waht state you are in bu in California,you CAN use her security depoist for any unpaid rents and any damages she leaves you with. If the damages end upexceeding the deposit, you would have to take her to court. Try letting her know that that is your plan should she damage anything, usually tenants don't want to be reported to anything. You can also issue a 3 day pay or quit to her right now, then after the 3 days with no pay to you, you start eviction. She probably won't want that onher record.

Hi,

where can i get info about this dead beat tenant list? i think i may have to report one of my current tenants. does anyone have the website? or contact info? thanks.

jay

Hi,

where can i get info about this dead beat tenant list? i think i may have to report one of my current tenants. does anyone have the website? or contact info? thanks.

jay

UD time!

I read recently in the security deposit area that this is the reason why security deposits usually are more than 1 months rent. Unfortunately in your case you have 2 options. Your first, reporting her to the national tenant list. That is easy, but to recoup any cost you may have to take her to court and that is just more time and money. You have to decide if it's worth the money and time. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I was in a similar situation. Good luck.

I called my tenant to inform him that I had not received the rent for the present month and that we were already at the last week of the month. He said that he had moved out and was almont done movint his stuff out. I told him that he still had to pay for the month that he was moving his stuff out and that he was suppose to mail me a letter giving me a 30 day notice that he was moving! He said he did not care and that he was out of there. I went to inspect the unit and he still has some belongings there. He left all the doors unlocked for anyone to go in. I need to fix and repair the unit, can I got into the unit and start doing the repairs. Since he just left the unit without notice what are my rights and how should I handle this situation legally?

It's unfortunate that some people do not have any integrity. Tell her that if she doesn't pay her rent (as agreed to in the lease) you will report her to a national "dead beat tenant" list and this will make it impossible for her to get another apartment.

State the you would rather end the relationship on a good note, but if she decides to not pay her rent, then you have no other choice.

Also, tell her you would rather give her the security deposit back, but you will only do so if all her rent is paid up and the apartment is returned in good condition.

If she refuses to cooperate, tell her you have no choice but to report her to the service and the credit bureau (you actually may or may not want to do this).

If she doesn't pay, then keep the amount of security deposit you need to cover the missing rent AND to bring the apartment back into the right condition. Ensure you take pictures of any damages and list out everything you are decuting from the security deposit. You may need this for backup.