Tenant left without 21d notice and stole on video, wants deposit

[Todd Williams]

Fun post #2, the covid train never sleeps. I didn't want to overload a single topic so here's the other part.

Really, this has to do about civil vs criminal and moving forward. Also had some questions regarding moving my property and damaging it in the process. A lot learned about using eviction aggressively when needed.

The facts:

• Tenant wanted to leave, gives me '30 day' notice, then says they are leaving in 4 days, then moves out.
• Tenant wanted security deposit before they move out.
• Tenant has been model up to this point, communicating, handling turnover, cleaning, pays on time, etc.
• Police were called prior to my arrival by other tenant and they were told to put my property back.
  
• I show up on property unannounced and some of my property tenant knows is mine is still moved next to the door with their moving boxes.
• Tenant says to my face they were going to take my stuff in case I didn't give them their deposit back?!
• TENANT LOADS SOME OF MY PROPERTY INTO THEIR MOVING VAN IN VIEW OF THE CAMERAS THEY KNOW ARE ON?! (Found out after they left)
• A few items of mine and other tenant are missing, maybe $250 or so that we know of currently.
• One tenant asked the other tenants to move my mattress downstairs and the other 2 tenants moved and ripped the seams in multiple places and stored it slumped on it's side (who's at fault here?).
• I have not confronted them about stealing.

So I have their April rent, they were on month to month since they were going to move out anyway. There's a deposit of lets say $525.

• Can I deduct mattress damage since they moved it without my permission and it was damaged? Split responsibility? It's basically new and $2,000.
• It seems I can document missing items and deduct them from the deposit in Colorado? I'm going to mail them a SODA via certified mail.
• A smoke detector was unplugged and I was not notified, tenant was only one cooking. Is this a safety issue I can charge for? I've replaced and tested the new alarm already.
• Their old lease doesn't include verbiage about early termination fees or costs, the new one has a $300 lease break fee... but I don't know if they signed it. Lesson learned, will use eSigning remotely and send eviction if I don't get it signed quickly. Am I covered here?
• Should I pursue any criminal things (deposit should cover lease break and theft amounts... that I can see so far), or just let it go? They are in another state (TX). I don't want retaliation, but I do want others to be aware of what happened if they rent again.

Hope you enjoyed the drama and thanks for any answers or advice you can give!

[Nathan Gesner]

@Todd Williams yes, you can (and should) charge them for the ruined mattress. Yes, you can deduct the missing items from their deposit. No, you can't charge them for unplugging a smoke alarm. Forget the lease termination fee.

Here's how I see it. They gave 30 days notice and they paid for 30 days of rent, so you didn't lose any rent or suffer damages by their early departure. Apply the deposit towards the missing items, cleaning, and damages. Send them a final statement per law and indicate whether they owe additional or not. Then move on.

The amount of time it took you to write that email was more than they are worth. Apply the deposit, start marketing the rental, and carry on.