tenant passed away this weekend in my rental.

[LuAnn Vigen]

I have a tenant, who passed away a few days ago. Her rent was late, so I had her brother check on her. She was a single lady. What is the best/kindest way to reclaim the rental. The rent for this month is understandably late. Can I use the security deposit to cover this month?

Do I need to go through the eviction process or just hope the relatives move her belonging out before the end of the month? Whats a respectable amount of time I should give the relatives before I address these issues.

If this has happened to anyone else, I would appreciate the feed back

[Michele Fischer]

Something to think about... when we rent to single people, we have a paragraph in the rental agreement where they fill in the name and contact info of the person they want to make decisions about their tenancy and belongings if they become incapacitated.

You can absolutely apply the last months rent against the deposit.  Your biggest concern is getting possession back and getting the relatives to take or waive rights to the belongings so you don't have to store it.