Inherited tenants w/ signed termination letter refuse to leave

[Alexis Renny]

Hi there! I spent hours last night pouring over this forum and hadn’t  found anything that quite addressed my unique and frustrating situation. I recently closed on my first home in Miami FL (yay!) and it’s 2 houses, 1 main and 1 rental / grandmother suite in the back.  Prior to purchasing I actually lived here for 3.5 years as a tenant and I currently know all too well about the deadbeat tenants in the back.  In addition to not paying their rent on time, they have also been operating an illegal prohibited business a yoga studio!

Anyways before closing I addressed all of these concerns with the seller and was presented with a signed and dated termination / notice to vacate from the problem tenant agreeing to be gone before or on March 31st, today.  Unfortunately the seller also agreed in his lease and with them to let them take any rental improvements that they made  they also got $1800 worth of rental discount for these during their tenancy, and that the property was appraised with these. This has included ALL of the landscaping and gardening they did in the back yard.  Clearly they are doing this out of spite as they had pleaded with me prior to their notice to stay (during the closing) and I informed them I had other plans for the property. At present it’s a mess, but I had documented it with before and after photos.

Anyways my fiancé and I went over yesterday to make sure the tenant was on track to turn in the keys today and they told me they were actually planning on leaving Monday because they couldn’t get movers! For the record they have been moving things out for the last 2 weeks. Maybe if they hadn’t spent so much time ripping up the landscaping. I informed them I had their signed and dated termination letter and that legally they needed to be out by 11:59 pm today or I will call the cops and pursue further legal action against them.  As of this morning there is magically a Uhaul truck in the driveway.  But just in case they do not leave any advice is much appreciated!! I currently hold their security deposit, only $500 and technically I have threatened to report their business to code enforcement before (I held off) but I could use that as a negotiating tactic for leaving on time, since the fines are up to $5000 in Miami and it’s possible this tenant Does not have full citizenship status.