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Tenant moved, left personal items in unit in Ohio. What next?
Hello. I have a rental in Ohio that 2 tenants were splitting the rent on. One of the tenants possibly has some mental issues. Both tenants were using a Help Crisis Center to pay their bills and my rent checks were coming directly from this center. On Nov 18th I was given a 30 day notice that they were moving. Prior to Dec 1 tenant #1 left the crisis center program so I did not receive any rent for his half for Dec. He has since moved out. I did receive tenant #2 rent but this only amounted to half the rent due under the lease. Tenant #2 moved out about 10 days ago. However, this tenant left personal belongings (mostly bags of baby clothes) in the house. I have been speaking with her case worker at the crisis center and she has been trying to get her to go get the remaining items but the tenant is being uncooperative and has refused. The case worker told her if it's not out by Jan 1 she will have to pay another months rent but she don't seem to care and I really don't think the crisis center will really send me another months rent and even if they did it would only be for her half. I think this is more of a scare tactic on the case workers part to try to get the tenant to cooperate. I offered to move the items to a storage facility and was told the tenant cannot afford that and not to do it (per case worker). As of today the case worker is going to continue to talk with the tenant and attempt to get her to remove the rest of the items by Friday and is telling her that if she doesn't the items will be discarded. This was the case workers idea and she has told me that if the items are not removed by Friday to go ahead and get rid of them and secure the house. So..... Is it OK for me to just get rid of these items if they are not removed by Friday per the case workers telling me to? Would I need something in writing from the case worker and/or the tenant? I don't want the tenant to come back later and claim I just got rid of her stuff but I also am not running a free storage facility and obviously cannot clean and rerent the house until her stuff is gone so this is costing me money. Since she has moved and left the items behind can I get rid of them based on her leaving/abandoning them? Any help is appreciated... Thank you!
Call your landlord/tenant attorney and discuss the sitaution with them. If you don't have one, now would be a good time to find out.
I assume you have one lease with two people on it. And that it has a "joint and several liability" clause in it. So, as far as I'd be concerned, December rent was not paid. I would have started an eviction back on about December 5. And, by now, that would have probably been done here and the set-out would be done or at least scheduled.
Now if its two separate leases, then you have to deal with this tenant on their own. Was the full December rent (half the total, I guess) paid for this tenant? If so, she has until the end of December to fully vacate the unit. If she's not out and appears to have left actual possessions behind, then she's still there on Jan 1 and I'd be wanting the full Jan rent. If you just trash or store her stuff, you might well be on the hook for it. Here's where you really need to chat with your attorney.
Refer to your state and local landlord-tenant law. Do not follow the advice of the case worker unless the law backs you up on this. You must first have legal termination of the tenancy. If the notice to terminate tenancy by December 31 (or sooner) was signed by both tenants then you may have that covered. Then see what the law and/or your contracts say about property left behind.
In Washington State, we can either put the belonging out on the nearest public property (the curb) or store it at the tenant's expense for 30 days. We have a "Return of Possession" form that we and the tenant signs when they move out, whereby the tenant can release any left over belongings to the landlord to dispose as the landlord chooses. We end up donating a lot of things to charities that provide shelter for homeless people or transition programs for people moving from a shelter to their own place.
Also, if by January 1 you have not sorted this out, then move the bags of baby clothes and the few other items left behind to a storage shed, put a lock on it, and proceed to re-rent the property. Don't look at it as providing free storage, look at it as regaining possession of your unit and turning it over quickly so you can get a rent paying tenant in place. You will do better financially that way. Also, this is a much better situation than others have experienced when tenants hold over and refuse to leave the premises. Some will even pay tenants to move or provide truck and labor to move their stuff out. The key is you will be much better off to regain possession and move-on than worry about who pays for the storage. Don't forget to change the locks on the unit as soon as you regain possession. Document well. In your final report on end of tenancy and disposition of security deposit you may also charge for the removal and storage/disposal of property left behind.
@Jon Holdman Yes it is one lease with two people on it and it has the clause you mentioned. I guess I was in the Christmas spirit as I was willing to let her stay till the 18th since I received her half of the rent. I do have a one month security deposit (each tenant paid half) that will cover the lost rent provided no other damage has been done to the property. I plan to contact the landlord/tenant agency and possibly an attorney but wanted to get some insight here first. I'm hiring she gets it all out by Friday but not holding my breath.
It was my impression both tenants have moved out of the unit, but the second tenant left some of her possessions behind. Can you get her to sign off that she no longer wants those possessions or else deliver them to her? We're not talking about a whole household of stuff, right? We once delivered two station wagon loads of left over belongings to a tenant who moved to a new place and who was not mentally capable of dealing with the last of her stuff. Sounds like you have a similar situation. That may be another option. If you do that, take photos of the stuff being delivered to the tenant or get witnesses or a sign off from the tenant that she received the last of her belongings.
@Marcia Maynard The notice to terminate wasn't signed by either tenant.. I received it from the case worker. Also, I don't know that the tenant would be willing to sign anything as she is being uncooperative with the case worker etc...
I was referring to my property not being a free storage facility... I'm not worried about paying for a few months storage if that's the case. That's what Is planning on doing but the case worker told me not to put the stuff in storage... Although if she doesn't get it out by Friday I may do that anyway depending on what the tenant law states in that regard. And I do plan on deducting everything legally possible from the security deposit which at this point is looking like all of it.
And yes this could be much worse... I'm just glad the tenants are out but I still need to deal with getting the remaining belongings out legally if she doesn't. When I bought my personal residence many years ago we closed escrow and I was to receive possesion at COE so I show up the next day to start cleaning the place up, get ready to install new carpet etc and the sellers were still there packing boxes with some sob story on how they couldn't move out yet. Now mind you I had given them $200 thru escrow to pay for a storage facility so as not to delay the closing so I ended up helping them load my truck and trailer with their belongings and driving them to the storage place so they could get out by the end of the day. Took several trips but after that they left peacefully.
Thanks for the responses.
I like your idea about delivering the items to her and getting pictures. I'm pretty sure the case worker would be willing to go along for the drop off and sign off that the items were delivered. It's mostly just bags of baby clothes and some odds and ends, nothing major other then a couch with some missing cushions that I'm sure she just left behind cuz it's trash. This just might be the solution I was looking for. Thanks again!!
@Sheri Ulm you really need to consult an attorney. It may be too late today to get someone in OH, but do it in the morning. You are really on shaky ground here. You could easily make a bad situation worse. You're talking $200 or so for a consultation with an attorney, maybe less if they will chat with you for free.
I think this case worker is seriously leading you astray. You say "The notice to terminate wasn't signed by either tenant". Really? I honestly think you do not have any notice to terminate, then. This case worker is NOT your tenant. They CANNOT terminate your tenants lease. Unless there is some legal precedent for this or the situation is more complex, and that's something a lawyer can tell you that none of us can.
Have both tenants handed over the keys? If so (according to my attorney and CO law) that constitutes handing over possession of the property. If they have done this, then you are probably safe to just dispose of anything that's left in the unit. If not, and again, I mean here in CO and after consultation with my attorney on this exact topic, I know that if it appears the tenant has abandoned the property and left nothing of value behind that I should walk the unit and video tape what I see. With some other person accompanying me. If it appears abandoned, then I can store or dispose of what's left, change the locks, and start marketing the unit. I've had this happen to me. But only trash, some cleaning supplies, and miniblinds (that didn't fit any of this properties windows) were left behind. I ended up storing the cleaning supplies and mini-blinds for a year or so before getting rid of them.
In your case, though, you have what appears to be belongings left behind. If you don't have the keys and this stuff is there, I do not think you can take possession. You may well have to do an eviction to get possession of your unit.
Hopefully that's the end of that. No good deed ever goes unpunished in this business. Grocery stores don't get the Christmas spirit and let people walk out without paying. Gas stations don't let you drive off. You are exactly the same. When someone's in your unit without paying, there's only one name for them - thief. This is a business, not a charity.
@Sheri Ulm Is the Help Crisis Center named in the rental agreement as jointly and severally liable? Or the case worker as having authority to legally sign on the behalf of the two tenants? If not, then proper notice to vacate was not given. However, both tenants moved out without intention to continue to rent the unit, so it then becomes an abandonment situation. Your state will have steps to take when a property is abandoned. If you follow those steps, you will be able to legally regain possession of the unit. I would first try to get a sign off from both tenants that they are in agreement to terminate the rental agreement. The document would have your signature as well. Ask the case worker to facilitate this or try to do it yourself. I think that would cover you, but check with experts in your area to make sure. Good luck!
Thanks again to both of you. I will be consulting with the tenant law people and an attorney if the items are not removed by Friday. I don't know a lot about the Crisis Center other then they help people who have problems by distributing checks to pay their bills out of whatever income they have (employment, SSI, etc) every month. The way it is set up they have authority to act on behalf of their client on financial matters and issues regarding living arrangements. The property is vacant. Tenant 1 left after he was told he would have to pay the full rent once she was gone or get an approved roommate. He wanted to stay but couldn't afford the place on his own so he quit the program and just disappeared. Tenant 2 has moved and is renting an apartment. The case worker verified this as she is the one who sent the deposit check and Dec rent to the new landlord so I know the home is empty. Also, the neighbors stated there has been no one there in about 2 weeks and they saw both tenants moving out. All attempts to contact both tenants at the home have resulted in no one being there and the phone number is disconnected. Also, the tenant contacted the gas and water companies to have the services shut off and removed from their names.
Sorta related story:
Years ago I rented a house here in CA that came with a very old refrigerator... I'm talking 1950 style and this was the 90's. About 6 months into my tenancy the fridge broke down and I called the rental agency. They told me just buy a new fridge and dispose of the old one but I told them they needed to remove the old one as it was going to cost me to have the city pick it up or take it to the dump. I told them it would be in the garage and they said OK. They never came to get it so when I moved out several months later I just left it in the garage. Nothing else was left and I cleaned the house spotless before I moved. I was also told to drop the keys in the mail slot of their office since they were not open on weekends and I was moving over 60 miles away. I did as told puttring the keys in an envelopre with the property address and my name etc written on the outside and on a note inside with the key. Well, guess what...a few weeks later I got my deposit refund check... Minus a dump fee for the fridge "I left behind" and a rekeying fee because they claimed they never got the keys back.