Tenants moved out but no communication and there are pets left.

[Paul DeBoer]

Hey,

Got a unique situation. A tenant is one month behind on rent, and he has all of a sudden stopped communicating with me. So we started the eviction process.. But, I was getting the feeling that they had moved out. So I went to the property and had a chat with another tenant there and she said " They moved out earlier in the week but I could hear a dog barking and I saw cat in the window. Tenant that is still there said they are still coming by to take care of the animals.  I see three paths to gain possession and please clarify if there is another way. 

First path I see is to go through an eviction to get a writ, and call animal control to get pets.

Second, is to get a signed document stating they are giving possession of the unit back to me and they take the animals out.

Third, get a sign document stating possession back to me but I take call animal control on the animals. 

Is there another way to get possession?

[Konstantin Ginzburg]

@Paul DeBoer

If the tenant is not communication; what you can and can not legally do is really dictated by where you live. The landlord-tenant laws vary drastically from state to state and even have differences city to city within the same state. It may be best to reach out to those familiar with local legislation in the area your rental is for the best course of action to take. I was in a similar position earlier so I know how stressfull it can be. Best of luck!