Does having tenant sign agreement to pay or move out by certain date hold up legally?

Question

I have a couple dozen rooming houses, most are rented by the week.  2-5 tenants per house.  My goal is to make my system as efficient as possible and keep this beast growing.  
	
	Question:  Does having a tenant sign a very simple document saying,

"Bob Tenant agrees to pay $220 by 11/28/2013 (this date is generally only 2 to 5 days into the future because they are weekly renters) by 5pm OR will move out by 5pm on the same day.
	Signed - Bob Tenant"
	
	Does their agreement to move out hold up to Tenant Landlord laws if I show up at 5pm on the 28th and they don't want to move out?  Keep in mind, I don't nor have I ever strong armed tenants into moving out.  I always communicate a move out date, provide a truck and the option of storing their things for 30 days if need be.  I have moved out over 80 people in the last 2 years, not one eviction.
	
	Thanks,
	
	Andrew

Roy N. · Answer

@Andrew Clark

Bill Gulley raises a valid and important point.   Above, I assumed your rooming houses were all legal when I said to check with your tenancy law (and a real estate lawyer).  You should probably confirm your operations do not violate local zoning even before (or at least in addition to) looking at the tenancy law.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Actually, zoning will most likely guide you in what you can agree to. All tenancy arrangements are covered, from a day to a year or longer. As Nancy touched on, motels, hotels and rooming houses have different setout rules than leased properties. Zoning will determine if your property is eligible for such temporary housing. You can make any written agreement you like, it's validity is up to the judge, not the parties to it.

All contracts are simply a written documents that describe the intent of the parties and that guide them to some settlement or transaction. You only have problems when one party fails to perform as agreed. At that point you have options, either party or both can walk away, or they can take action to enforce the terms and performance. If you push for performance that means arbitration or legal proceedings. At that point the contract will be subject to interpretation and compliance to be enforceable. In RE, if your contract is not appropriate to the legal use of a property it will be tossed out.

Can you make an agreement? Sure! Is it valid and enforceable? That's a different issue. But if it gets you to the end to the transaction as contemplated and as agreed to, the validity is irrelevant.....well, unless something comes back to bite you later on from some illegal activity. :)

Account Closed · Answer

BTW Andrew.  I read your credentials and am impressed.  Good job!

Account Closed · Answer

Question: Does having a tenant sign a very simple document saying,

The simple document is called a "Lease Agreement" whether it is week to week or month to month unless you are a Hotel/Motel.

Get yourself a good legal lease agreement and use it, filling in the blanks where the info would apply to that particular tenant.

(Check your State Laws and City Ordinances and you won't get in trouble)

Download a good lease agreement from attorney or bite the bullet and pay for one at one of your local Real Estate Attorney offices.  (It's a write off for you at the end of the year)

In this Lease agreement you will have start date and end date, etc.,

Hold over tenants have been the last straw for every landlord.  I have been fighting this injustices for many years and have been working with a lobbyist to help change the law so that when a tenants contract ends, we just take that contract to the police station and have the tenant removed.

A contract is a legal document.  We don't need a court to tell us that our contract is a legal contract and ask the tenant why haven't you left, then give them 10 more days to move or more.

Do you think I could keep a car that I was leasing for any period of time if my contract expired.  Or stay on a job if I was fired, but refused to go!  It's been a long road but one we need to stick together and nip in the bud.

But for right now, your option to remove a tenant from you property must go through the normal channels in your state.  File the legal paperwork and pay a lot of money.  That's the name of the game.

So far you've been lucky.  But luck doesn't last forever.  You can be fined heavily for not doing things correctly and a street smart tenant can take you for everything you own.

Just sayin

Nancy Neville

Bill Gulley · Answer

In the default provision, it's good to note that the landlord shall be entitled to twice the rents agreed on a per diem basis. However, it's really not a good idea for now legal types to attempt to draft contracts and overly describe unnecessary provisions that are already prescribed by law. What you may say may well be seen, if not properly written, to contradict law, it may provide other agreements, stipulated or implied as to something making the usual and customary treatment ineffective. You'll see in contracts where the prevailing laws and jurisdiction is stated for that contract, unless you know what all those laws are and what is customary you shouldn't be writing a contract! :)

Darren Sager · Answer

@Andrew Clark we have it in our lease about holding over if the tenant does not vacate the premises per the lease agreement.  Here in NJ we're entitled to double rent if the tenant holds over.  Obviously that doesn't help much when you have another tenant moving in however I would check the laws locally and make sure you include the language in your lease.  I would point out the section in writing to your tenant and let them know what's going to happen if they do stay.  Also make sure your lease includes a section on the tenant being responsible for your legal fees for you to enforce any section of your lease.

Roy N. · Answer

Andrew:

We can serve a Notice to Vacate as early as the day after rent is due - however this process was devised with apartment/house lessees on a monthly term in mind as it gives them 7-days to pay or 15 to vacate.

In the case of a week-to-week roomer, we will serve a Notice to Vacate as it starts the eviction process {thankfully we've never had to go that far}, but we will also serve them notice to end the lease as we are only required to give a week's notice here.   Silly, but that's how the Act seems to work.

Rather than use the text you posted here, I would spend a couple of hundred dollars and have a lawyer provide you with a template you can use in all scenarios.

Andrew Clark · Answer

Thanks Roy.  So you're able to begin the eviction process after one week?  Our laws do not differentiate between weekly and monthly.  Unless the location has been deemed a vacation rental (which requires tenant to have a primary residence other than this room) or a motel/hotel/B&B.
	
	Evictions here take about 4-6 weeks depending if they appeal and about $250.  Whether I have a legal foot to stand on or not, surprisingly some people are true to their word and move out on the date promised.  I'll be using this doc to give them something concrete to hold on to, plan for and expect.

Roy N. · Answer

@Andrew Clark

Andrew, it will really depend on the tenancy law in North Carolina - I suggest you read the statute and see an attorney who practices real estate law.

Here roomers and boarders are covered by the Residential Tenancies Act and if there is no signed lease, there is a default lease imposed by the Act.  We are required to give a roomer/boarder one rental periods notice, just as we do for a tenant - so, if they rent week-to-week, one week's notice.

Stephen S. · Answer

First:  I am not an attorney, all my attorney friends are ambulance chasers, and I don't do any business in your state.

But I don't think tenant/landlord law is really what governs your situation.  I am pretty sure it's not in NJ.  It seems to me that there would either be a specific set of laws for rooming houses - or you would be using the same laws as would apply to a motel/hotel -esque situation.

stephen

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Does having tenant sign agreement to pay or move out by certain date hold up legally?

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