Tenant unresponsive, rent unpaid, suspect abandonment

[Victor Drazen]

Hi all,

Just acquired property, already a big problem: one of the tenants is AWOL and I can't get a hold of him. It's 2 days (or 3 days?) before I can serve a pay or quit notice as far as I understand.

I've been trying to research reasons for me to be able to enter the property to verify if he has moved out or not, but I haven't come up with much concrete.

I just need to know if he's still living there. He mentioned he may be moving out, but at the time it seemed like he was talking about after the lease, not after the property sale (now I"m not so sure). Also every time we have inspected the unit after the first viewing he had his stuff packed up as if ready to move out (again, thought this was in prep for lease end in Sept, he is a strange fellow).

What levers have you found helpful? Can I give him a 48-hour notice by mail that I intend to come in and fix a legitimate issue? That I intend to show the property to a buyer/renter? Do I already have enough pretext to suspect and therefore enter to verify? From the places I can see (deck), he still has some [valueless] property left behind, so it does not appear to be totally cleared out.

To be clear, I'm not using this to evict him, I just want to confirm if he's still around. He technically isn't doing anything wrong until the last legal day he has to pay - should I just play it safe and wait until day 9, serve pay or quit, then enter on day 11 on suspicion due to "nonresponse to pay or quit?"

Thanks

[Marcia Maynard]

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!  

As a nascent investor, you need to do your homework. It's imperative that you know and understand the landlord-tenant laws for your jurisdiction, especially if you self manage your properties. If you try to learn as you go, you may fall into a quagmire. There is an art to landlording.

First, is the property in the same town where you live, Hartford, Connecticut? If so, what does the law for your jurisdiction say about abandonment?

Here is a good article from the Landlord Protection Agency website: 

https://www.thelpa.com/lpa/what/bronchick-abandon....

In it it states "Some states have specific laws regarding PRESUMPTIONS of abandonment. For example, Connecticut law states:
Sec. 47a-11b. Abandonment of unit by occupants. Landlord's remedies.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "abandonment" means the occupants have vacated the premises without notice to the landlord and do not intend to return, which intention may be evidenced by the removal by the occupants or their agent of substantially all of their possessions and personal effects from the premises and either
(1) nonpayment of rent for more than two months or
(2) an express statement by the occupants that they do not intend to occupy the premises after a specified date."

------

Understand tenant mentality. Keep an eye on the property. Serve proper legal notices at the first opportunity to do so.

Here is what I do:

1.  As soon as a tenant states, or even hints, they plan to move out, I ask them "When?". Then I review with them our move-out procedure and give them another copy of a form I would like them to use to give me proper legal notice of their intent to move. The form looks like this:

NOTICE TO VACATE

Please give as much notice as possible when planning to vacate and end tenancy, but not less than twenty (20) days prior to the end of your last month.Washington State law requires written notice of intent to end tenancy be given to the landlord at least twenty (20) days prior to the end of the final rental period.

To:  FISCHER PROPERTIES, P.O. BOX XXX, VANCOUVER, WA 98XXX

From Tenant: __________________________________________

Date Notice Sent: ____________________

I/We, the undersigned resident(s), hereby give notice to vacate the premises at:

__________________________________________________________________

This notice terminates the tenancy on the date of: ___________________

I/We will deliver possession of said premises to the owners on or before that date.

Reason for Moving: ___________________________________________

Forwarding Address: __________________________________________

Contact Telephone: ___________________________________________

Tenant Signature/Date: ______________________________________

[Feel free to modify this form for your own use to be in alignment of the L-T law for your jurisdiction.]

2.  If they haven't paid rent for the month by the date it is due, I attempt to contact them by phone and/or text. If unsuccessful, I make a site visit. If they don't answer the door, I post a legal notice to "Pay Rent or Quit" and mail a copy to them as well, according to the L-T laws for my jurisdiction. In CT it's called a "Notice to Quit for Non Payment of Rent". Serve this at your first opportunity. It's also required to start an eviction process.

3.  If I notice they've moved out a substantial amount of belongings, especially after they have verbally told me of their intent to move, and/or I suspect they have abandoned the apartment, I will post a "Notice to Enter", according to the L-T laws for my jurisdiction. In CT it's called a "Notice of Intent to Enter". Serve this at your first opportunity and wait the legally allotted time. No need to make up a reason to enter, state the real reason: SECURITY CHECK - SUSPECTED ABANDONMENT. You need to make sure the tenant has not left water faucets running, the stove on, windows/doors unlocked, etc. that would put your property at risk.

4.  The tenant is still in possession of your property until they voluntarily return it to you or you go through the legal process to reclaim it. Unfortunately, the legal process takes more time. When a tenant moves out of one of our properties, I ask them to sign this form upon their departure. It serves as clear documentation the tenant has vacated. Unfortunately, when a tenant abandons a property, you miss this opportunity:

RETURN OF POSSESSION & REFUNDS

Landlord: _______________________________

Tenant: _________________________________

Rental Unit Address: _____________________

The tenant returned possession of the premises (as stated above) to the landlord on the date of ____________ and attests that they have returned ALL sets of keys to the landlord.

The tenant attests they have removed from the property all personal belongings.If anything was left by the tenant and later found, it shall be stored and/or disposed of by the landlord as per law.

Security Deposit:As per agreement and as required by law (RCW 59.18.280) within twenty-one (21) days after the termination of the rental agreement and vacation of the premises or the landlord’s learning that the property has been abandoned, the landlord shall mail to the tenant’s last known address a full and specific statement of the basis for retaining any of the deposit together with the payment of the refund due the tenant under the terms and conditions of the rental agreement.The tenant paid a security deposit of ___________, which will be considered for this purpose.

New address provided by tenant: _____________________________

Telephone provided by tenant: _______________________________

Landlord Signature/Date: ____________________________________

Tenant Signature/Date: ______________________________________

[Feel free to modify this form for your own use to be in alignment of the L-T law for your jurisdiction.]

Good luck!