My Tenant ABANDONED His Unit - Requesting Advice

[Bryce Peterson]

Hi all,

I've a member for a little while but this is my first time posting in the forums. I've got a 4 bed, 2 bath single family residence in Hawaii where I rent out individual bedrooms.

One of my tenants abandoned his room even though he is under lease through 1/28/18.

The tenant failed to pay rent for 2 months, and utilities for 3 months.

All of his belongings were removed but the room was not sufficiently cleaned. Before leaving, he left his key and told me he didn't have to pay since he had signed up for military boot camp. I explained to him that his understanding was incorrect and he is still obligated to pay or agree to terms for lease breaking (unfortunately the lease was silent to lease breaking which I have since fixed for future tenants).

He has been non responsive since, so I read into the Hawaii Landlord and Tenant laws and followed the book regarding required procedures & notifications. After his first notice, I sent him a letter, dues owed, another copy of the lease, & applicable laws to the previous address he provided on the lease agreement. My letter included my reasoning for deposit retention, lease termination, and my intention to sue for dues & fees owed plus any applicable attorney fees and a reasonable commission if dues are not paid by a particular date.  I have since received a signed lease from a new tenant so the summary of dues I provided the tenant that abandoned the unit were calculated up to the start date of the new tenant's lease.

The packet I sent him was returned to my residence & stated "MOVED" on the front.

NOW WHAT DO I DO?

I have proof that I sent it to the address he provided on the lease under the NOTICE section, but I know he didn't receive it. Do I go on a goose chase to find out where he or his parents now live? Do I have to enlist and pay for help at this point? I'd like to avoid spending money to recover money of course.

Looking forward to hearing back.

Thanks,

Bryce