Rent 9 days late - Tenants gone! Texas

[Anthony Varner]

Hey there, anyone who can help, thanks in advance.   

My tenant is late 9 days and I haven't seen anyone there in a while.  It's a duplex - I'm upstairs, they were downstairs.  The thing is - she told me they were having issues with bedbugs (and then roaches too).  So she was going to throw out the mattresses, sofa, linens, etc., then have the place cleaned/exterminated, before moving back in.  I've asked about payment when it got late and she said she would pay, then didn't pay.  Same thing a couple days later.  I posted the 3-day notice to pay or quit after 6-days late.  Right now is day 3 since the notice posted.     

Does anyone here know the proper way to proceed with this?  I know she just wants to abandon the place rather than stick to the plan.  This is of course breaking the lease but this wouldn't exactly be an eviction case since they are no longer there, right?  

Do I need to get something in writing from her saying that she is not coming back?  Or after today if there's no response and no payment still, am i allowed to simply take back the property?  This is for Houston, TX.

I'm okay with them leaving - i just want to make sure this is handled exactly right.  Want to get in there right away, exterminate, clean, and re-rent it out.  Also I want to make sure this is reported and affects her credit.  

Thanks BP

-Anthony

[David Hines]

First of all, I am not a lawyer and you should definitely reach out to a lawyer if you need legal advice.

I am a real estate broker, property manager and investor and I've had a similar situation. If you are using the Residential Lease agreement promulgated by the Texas Association of Realtors, there is a section that deals with exactly this situation. Paragraph 16 covers Move-Out and specifies that a tenant may not abandon the property and outlines exactly what constitutes abandonment. If you follow the lease agreement and establish that the property has been abandoned, you shouldn't need to go through the whole eviction process to take possession of the property.

Let me know if there is anything I can do for you. All my contact information is on my profile page.