First tenant just left without notice and destroyed the place

[Eva Rosales]

So, I help my dad who lives out of the country manage a duplex that he recently bought. This is our first round of tenants, we have one side rented, that *knock on wood* seem great. We screened a lot of tenants and waited for a great one and really thought we found them for the other side....Younger married couple with a baby, recently discharged from the navy, great rental history, income/employment, credit score, he had two puppies which he paid extra for monthly, they seemed upstanding and silly me had a great feeling about them.  They moved from out of state to here in Texas, and a few weeks prior I had a skype meeting with them to show them the property, they came and loved it, moved in the next day. They've been in for a few months and paid their rent on time, there wasn't any issues. Yesterday, I get a call from the tenant next door asking me when the unit is going to be for rent because he saw them move out and he had a friend he wanted to move in. I checked our rent payment online portal and show they haven't paid their rent and late charges were starting, so I texted the tenant and told him late charges were incurring and I heard that he has moved out, but I did not receive a notice of vacancy, is this true, he calls me immediately and said yes, he moved out, it got too expensive and that he's sorry for the inconvenience and he can pay for this month's rent in installments if that helps, I didn't agree to that, but didn't say no. I told him I'll need a forwarding address so that we can get a security deposit back to him if needed and he scoffed and told me that he definitely won't be getting his security deposit back. I told him that I would talk to the owner and call him back. Me and my husband went to check on the property that night and the place reeked. Electricity has been off for days, full fridge of food that is rotting, dog poop EVERYWHERE, most of his furniture and garbage is everywhere, baby room still has crib, changing table even a car seat, hell they left their keurig, the only thing we see missing is their tv and clothes--multiple holes in the walls chewed out from the dogs. Looks like they left the dogs there by themselves for a long time. I got more info from the other tenant and he said he saw him just packing clothes without boxes in his car and asked him, and he told them he is moving back to California. I got the electricity turned back on today, and changed the locks. I have a clean up crew coming tonight but talking to my dad, he's worried that since he didn't give us a notice of vacancy in writing, and since most of his stuff is there and he's asking to pay the rest of the month in installments we don't want to be sued if he tries to go back for his stuff. My idea is to email him asking to email us with the date of vacancy to ensure that no further late charges or late charges are added to his account, but I honestly don't know what to do next. , or if I can even have that clean up crew come tonight. Help?

[Doug Woodville]

You should seek out a lawyer that knows the local laws for dealing with this stuff. While BP is a wealth of knowledge and some people may have had similar experiences to share I think it's wise to get professional help in your situation. 

[Matthew Olszak]

@Eva Rosales I'd just get a text message from him confirming that he's moved out and that anything left can be disposed of - that way you'll have it in writing. Something like "Hey, since you've moved out I assume anything left in the apartment can get thrown out?" But don't touch anything until you get that OK from him, as just you having changed the locks could be an issue if he returns.

In case you don't get a response back, check your lease provisions to see what it says about abandonment.

If you believe you can collect from him or if your court costs are low enough, sue for the rent + damages minus the deposit. 

And don't freak out too much...when places are left nasty they appear to be in way, way worse condition than they really are once they get cleaned. Hopefully all you need to do after its cleaned is some drywall to patch and new carpets.

[Bob B.]

@Eva Rosales

In Georgia we would not have changed the locks yet.  They are still a tenant and you will need to get something in writing from them that they have abandoned the property and allowing you to dispose of their crap.  If not, you should post a pay or quit and follow up with and eviction.  The one thing that I would caution you about in the future, if someone wants to move in tomorrow, do not rent to them.  Prospective tenants that view properties while in a moving van are not good prospects.  

Talk with an Attorney, today.

I hope you can find them and get reimbursed.  

Good luck

[Jennifer T.]

I had this happen once with a tenant.  Just moved out over a few nights with no notice.  Except they didn't leave any belongings.  Thankfully, it happened to be the tenants next door in our personal duplex, so we were aware there was something suspicious going on.  We figured they were either moving out on us or the wife was kicking her lazy husband to the curb.

After the first night of total silence, we peeked in the windows.  Yep, nobody and nothing was there.

I sent a short text and a longer e-mail the next morning.  I basically told them that it appears they have moved out.  But, because we were all in a binding lease contract, I needed something in writing...even a reply back to my e-mail was fine...that they had vacated the premises.  Because I couldn't rent out the premises, thereby stopping the bleeding of their damages, without it.

I also warned them that I had already posted a 5-Day Pay or Quit Notice on the door and would have no choice but to go through the eviction process if they didn't give me any word they had vacated.  And that eviction would be a public record on both of their names.  They had moved out one day after rent was due.

I didn't hear from them at all that day but, at 10PM that night, there was a sudden loud SLAM on my metal security door.  Totally freaked me out!!!  I even waited about 5 minutes before looking out the peephole.  I almost missed it, but there was a small piece of paper wrapped around a key.  The piece of paper was literally a large ripped corner from a 8.5x11 piece.  It had 2-3 sentences on it that they had moved out.  I don't care how raggedy it was.  That was the notice and I could move onward and upward without them causing me even more damages and more of my precious time.  They had also ripped the Pay or Quit notice off the other door.  Whatever, lol.   

[Gail K.]

You've got a runner.  Happened with my first tenant (and this was in Georgia).  A mother and daughter team (with granddaughters).  Initially good tenants for about six months.  Then came February and they asked if I might wait a few days for the rent.  I said yes and when I went over to collect it no one was home.  I left, went to vote, came back; still the same.  

Was naive enough at that time NOT to enter the house.   Came by early the next morning on my way to work and when I saw no vehicles in the back yard I went in and saw they had taken off.  Like yours, power off and food in the frig..  Unapproved cats with filled cat box litter.  Ended up with 42 bags of trash.  I remember cleaning one granddaughters room with a garden rake to get down through all the layers of stuff.

Initially didn't know what to do so I wasted time filing for our version of an eviction "just to cover all bases"....didn't go back into the house until the Marshal had served the notice.  

Nowadays I do the same thing in terms of filing for an eviction but only to get this on a runners credit report.   I know they are never coming back and they are never going to give me their new address because they then know I can file a civil suit against them for damages (your runners likely know the same thing which is why they didn't provide this for you when you mentioned it).   

I did go through their garbage and found their new lease which they had left behind in their haste to scatter so I was able to file against them in court and won.  I was also able to find current bank statements which allowed me to file for bank garnishment but I got a small percentage since the person with the bank account had partial income from social security which is not garnishable.

At any rate, it's likely to be a cold day in...whatever....that your former tenants will be paying the rent in "installments" for this month.   I'm assuming that rent is due on the 1st day of the month.  It's the 5th; they are late.   Begin the process of eviction as outlined for your state just so you can get the property back under your control.  While you're doing this start getting it ready to re-rent.  Take plenty of pictures of the damage they left behind before you clean up anything.  If you're worried about what they left behind, pile it all in one bedroom while you work on the rest of the house.  That way you can truly say you've not dumped it until the eviction is complete.

And don't feel bad that you made a poor choice with these tenants.   The longer you do this the worse you see in human beings (at times).  You will also have great tenants down the road.   For the deadbeats and runners I just tell myself that all the work and damages get taken off next years taxes.

Gail

[Greg H.]

In Texas, the landlord can deem the property abandoned.  The law does not specify exact criteria but I would feel comfortable with the utilities being off , a phone call with the tenant and the information from the neighbor 

Additionally, in Texas, you have no obligation to account for the deposit for 30 days after vacating and receiving a forwarding address 

[Kimberly H.]

@Eva Rosales sorry this happened to you. In our area, the utility providers have landlord programs such that if the tenant turns off power or gas, the utility reverts to the landlords billing info. And it sends a snail mail letter saying so. That's how I knew when my first tenant took off in the middle of the night 7 days later, when I got the letters from the utility providers.  I'm in Illinois where we have winters and basements and its a big deal if the power goes out, and now with those smart meters they turn off the power THE DAY the tenants says. 

[Mindy Jensen]

@Eva Rosales , please be aware that texting may not be a legal method of notification. You do not want to compound your troubles by cleaning the place up and getting it ready for the next tenant, and have this tenant come back and declare they had a 90" TV, designer clothes, etc in the house that you took. 

Follow your state's landlord tenant laws regarding abandonment. @Greg H. said you can declare abandonment in Texas, and he's pretty knowledgeable about TX law, but I'd read through the statutes to be sure.

[Deanna McCormick]

Simple, Tell tenant to respond to your email confirming that they vacated on XXX date and that all personal property left behind was abandoned and can be disposed of.  After you get the response then go in and clean up... 

Charge in security deposit statement for all damages, and unpaid rent with fees for June for Improper Notice, Take Photos' of everything, If you already changed locks put a note on the door saying new keys are with manager and you entered for emergency electrical problem,,, basically power was off, you had to enter to insure smoke alarms were working.

check you state tenant laws, but basically your stuck until you get a confirmation of move out.

You had the right to secure your property from damages that could have happened due to electricty being discontinued.. 

A mess is a mess and it won't be the first or last time.. that's why you document move in conditions and photo move out conditions.. and get a good security deposit.

You say he's in the military,, check other posts about military tenants, you'll see that if you contact his commander he'll be pressured to pay for damages.. not sure but worth a check. 

[JD Martin]

My guess: couple split up and that was that. If you can (and it sounds like you can), you should have a clause in your lease somewhere about abandonment of the property. It allows you to go back and reclaim the property (more or less) immediately if it's been abandoned. The most you *might* have to do is store property for some period of time.