Oustanding Rent/ Damaged Property / Forged Signature

[Joe Tubbs]

I had a family that I rented to for the last three years in a SFH, 3b/2ba in Bham AL. The house was a vacate forclosure that we renovated to meet the neighborhood standard, engineered floors, tile kitchen, freshly painted walls etc. The first year went pretty smooth, the second year the husband lost his job several times and they had difficult paying their rent. The mother was in the military and was send on a few missions. When the mother went out of town the house would become a wreck with four kids left unsupervised.

On the third year renewal the tenant reached out indicating the school needed an updated lease so I revised the contract sent it to the tenant. They signed and sent it back to me. Out of 8 months 6 were paid 15 days late. I waived most of the fees knowing the husband had a hard time maintaining a job. Mid-way thru the year I get a complaint that the house is unlivable with no prior complaints. I asked several times to detail out the issues so that we could have a productive service call. Their main complaint was about the basement being damp and cold. I responded indicating that the basement is not a livable space and should only be used for laundry and storage. I later found out the kids were using it as a playroom and one of them were sleeping down there. The house was never advertised as having a finished basement only a 3/2

In all fairness I did become a bit of an absentee landloard during this time as I was transferred across the country two times and my personal life interfered. Nonetheless I had a handyman available and on call.

In visiting the house there was scattered trash on the deck and thru the yard. There was open grease containers in the kitchen, three garage door windows missing, holes in the walls, missing kitchen cabinet doors, broken floor tiles, doors off hinges, bags of dirty laundry in the basement etc.  After assessing the damage I prioritized based on landlord liabilities. The tenant stopped paying rent and become unresponsive to emails, calls and texts. The tenant then indicated that they are moving out. I replied with a certified letter that I needed 30 days notice last month rent and a cancellation fee. The tenant responded to my letter indicating that we did not have a signed lease and that they are on a month-to-month and that they only owe $1,600. In reviewing my records I must not have sent back a countersigned lease. Nonetheless in any of their prior leases there is a tenant hold over clause that indicates that if they stayed in the property monthly rent would increase by $50 dollars. I responded back to the tenant with the lease line and indicated each month would also be accompanied with a late fee if we were not going to go by the most recent lease with the total balance of $2,500 remaining. 

The tenant moved out this past weekend, turned off all utilities, left some furniture, food in the fridge, and trash throughout the house on top of all the damage listed above and left a roach infestation.  The infestation is so bad that roaches burnt out the new kitchen range control board.

I got a quote from the a sub contractor to do the repairs which is in the neighborhood of $4,200.  Which includes

• repair drywall damage/cracks
• replacing doors that were kicked in or off hinges
• repaint interior walls(tenant painted without authorization)
• replace broken kitchen tiles
• replace both bathroom vanities
• repair and paint kitchen cabinets
• replace range control board

I was told by a few other people that I should take the quote, outstanding balance, email correspondences, and before/after pictures to the wife's commanding officer but I am not sure if that will do any good. Has anyone had any luck with this?

After thinking about the lease and knowing the tenant needed it for school, I contacted the school to see if they could verify they had a copy of a signed lease on record. Sure enough, I was able to obtain a copy of this years lease with my signature on it. Clearly forged by the tenant.

At this point I am wondering what I can do legally. 

Would you contact the tenant and let them know you received a forged copy and they should pay now before turning it over to authorities?

Would you take the tenant to court on the basis that you have a signed lease to get damages, unpaid rent and future rent?

Any advice would be helpful. Please keep in mind hindsight is 20-20. I am well aware of my mistakes leading up to this point.