Seller waited until closing to inform about tenant notice

[Sean Krohn]

Last night I got a confirmed closing date for this Friday on my first duplex, and then this morning the seller agent has informed me that one tenant put in verbal notice on the 15th May (last week) to vacate on 15 June... I guess they didn't want to disclose this until we had a closing appointment set. It probably shouldn't be the biggest surprise as just before they listed the property this tenant went on a month-to-month lease, so they must have known it was coming. I do have a copy of the current month-to-month lease and it states that they need to give 60 days written notice to management before vacating, so correct me if I'm wrong but they have to honor the existing m-2-m lease, and the verbal notice will be invalid? To complicate things more, the tenant is section 8, they were only paying $100 of a $700 rent but I'll have to figure this out with the housing authority too. I obviously wasn't expecting to have to deal with a lease non-compliance and probably search for new tenant within a month of purchase, but I have to get the experience sooner or later right :-)  Any suggestions or similar experiences dealing with this type of situation would be helpful.

[Joe Scaparra]

A couple of things you should do.  The leases transfer to you at closing, so make sure you have them and they have to be honored by all parties!  Most notices to vacate must be in writing as stated in the lease.  Check it out and see what it says.  Also see if the lease requires 60 days notice, if so the tenant must abide by the lease.  The fact it is a Section 8 tenant helps you,  as my Section 8 tenants are required to give 60 days notice and are enforced by Section 8.  If your tenant wants to remain in good standing with Section 8 policies they have to comply with the lease.   Also, if the apartment is not left in good condition, let the Section 8 management know as they could be a help in getting the tenant to pay for damages.