Landlord vs. Tenant -- Anatomy of a Trial --

[Kevin Prentice]

Went to court today. >>>> in the words of Judge Smails (from the movie Caddy Shack) "didn't want to do it...felt I owed it to them". Sorry, that just came to me. Anyway......

If you're going to be a Landlord for any length of time you're going to end up in court, some day. It's a numbers game so eventually your number will come up and you'll find yourself standing in front of a judge.  With that in mind I thought I'd share my latest court experience in hopes it may help someone. Today was my 4th time in an 8 year period. It's kind of like the Olympics only I get to go every 2 years.....rather than every 4 years. 

The Pre-Court details are:

• Tenants (a couple) moved into a SFH last summer. One year lease at $1500 per month.
• Soon after they moved into my property they turned around and rented their previous property to my office assistant.
• Within 60 days of them taking occupancy they ran across an estate sale home on Fripp Island they wanted to buy.
• (here's where it starts getting weird). In an effort to break the lease they went behind my back and tried to bribe my assistant (whom was now their tenant) to help them break the lease without penalty. The man tried to entice my assistant with offers of lowering her rent and/or giving her a longer period of time to pay her rent. That happened in August. Nothing much came of it then at that time.
• In October they tried the same strategy by employing the help of my assistant, again, to break the lease without penalty. Again, nothing much came of it at that time.
• At the end of October my homeowner decided to sell her house. She had me list it on the MLS For Sale.
• On November 2nd the tenant showed up at my office to pay rent. At that time she informed me they were breaking the lease and moving due to the fact the house was now listed For Sale. I calmly educated her on the wording in the lease, etc., etc.  As you might expect she did not get her way. She said she'd talk with her husband and get back to me.
• On November 10th she contacted me by phone and said her husband is in the hospital, very sick, the house has mold, and they were vacating. She said her husband would contact me in the morning.

To be continued...... 

[Kevin Prentice]

@Nathan Gesner   Nice to meet you Nathan. I lived in Billings, MT, many years ago and have been to Cody on a number of occasions.  Thank you for the post.  To answer your questions:

• Yes, the tenants signed a one year lease. Yes, the property was listed For Sale four months into their lease.  Did I list it? Yes, I did.  Was it my decision to list it? Nope. I am a licensed Realtor, Broker and Property Manager. I represent the homeowner. I am her agent. She owns the home. Therefore, the decision to sell the home and when to list the home is 100% hers, not mine. Yes, I have input into her decision. But I can't pull the trigger, so to speak. Only she can do that. I did not agree with the timing of the listing. However, the tenants were made aware, in advance, of the possibility of the house being listed For Sale during their tenancy. They willfully signed the lease. Nobody held a gun to their head.
• Do I know the existing contract (aka Rental Agreement?) will transfer with the sale? Again, I am a licensed Property Manager. It is my job to know the South Carolina Landlord Tenant Act. So yes, I do know. 
• How do I justify interfering with the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment......? Nathan, with all due respect, you're very quick to point the accusatory finger of blame in my direction without knowing the full story, all the facts, nor the SC Landlord Tenant Act.   I don't justify interfering with it.....because I don't cross that line. I know the law and I know what the Lease states >>>>> and I adhere to both. And like I said previously, the tenants were made aware in advance of the possibility of the house being listed. No one held a gun to their head in signing the lease.