New landlord question

[Ryan King]

Hey all. First time poster here. Thank you to all who read this. 

I bought a BRRR in January. One of the two units was rented, month to month. I had the tenants sign a month to month lease with me, changing only the late fee after the 5th to $50 from $25. When I went to meet the tenants on the 5th for the first time and collect rent, they told me they didn't have it. So I accepted it on the 15th with no late fee. They were late one other time and I did not charge the fee. These tenants were relatively quiet and clean. No issues EXCEPT when I was working on the downstairs unit with adequate notice that I would be doing so, they'd come down and ask us to stop because they were napping. This is an issue because I work full time and my husband is frequently out of the country- so when we have the time we need to work. This was always early afternoon (1p and 3p.)

I opted to not renew their lease in April and informed them this would be their last month of tenancy on April 2nd. Asked them to be out NLT May 2nd. They were mad. Told me they wanted all of April rent back, etc. I provided them with a link to the landlord tenant act and a copy of their lease. 

They moved out early and I am working to get the unit rented. I have the units professionally cleaned after move out at the expense of the tenant per the lease. I provided documentation of this and their refund today. They also made 8 additional copies of keys. I asked how much they paid and they didn't remember, so I gave them $2 per key back. They are now saying they plan to take me to court for the remainder of their deposit and the rent from the date they moved out. 

Do I have anything to worry about in this situation? Thank you. 

[Chris S.]

Hey, also an Alaskan investor here. I am not a lawyer, but I do have a few places in Anchorage.

As far as ending their lease, I would have to know what date your lease starts on a month to month basis. Such as, if your lease runs from the 1st to the 30th, then you would have had to give them the 30 day notice prior to the 1st. This would mean that you posting a 30 day notice on the 2nd of the month would have been an illegal posting, because it did not fall within the 30 days prior to their next rent due date. If your leases run from the 2nd to the 2nd then you are okay.

As far as professional cleaning is concerned, you can charge for that if it is in your lease. But, the judge may make you prove the unit was professionally cleaned prior to their move in, this also applies for carpet cleaning. I hope you have at least an inspection checklist for them on their move in. If you do not, then you cannot charge for any damages or cleaning because there are no documents showing the condition of the rental property prior to their move in and the judge will take their side. 

Now, as far as them moving out early goes. You only owe them rent if you were able to rent out that unit within the time frame that they left. So, if their lease ran through April 2nd and you rented it out on March 20th, then you would owe them for the portion that you had the unit filled with a new tenant. If you did not fill it prior to their official move in date, then you do not owe them any money. 

From the landlord tenant act:

"If the tenant decides to move during the term of the lease, the tenant is usually still responsible for the rent for the rest of
the lease period, unless the dwelling can be re-rented earlier. The landlord is responsible for making a good faith effort
to re-rent the property, and may not charge the original tenant rent after the property is re-rented, or for any time during
which the landlord does not make a reasonable, good faith effort to rent the property.
If the landlord attempts to re-rent the property, the tenant may be responsible for rent while the property is vacant during
the term of the lease."

Now what you should have done was post a notice of abandonment on their door when they did move out, wait the allotted time, and then change the locks/clean. Unless if you had something in writing already with them stating that they would be out prior to the end of their lease. A judge may accept a text message from the tenant as proof, but they are not binding in court and I wouldn't hold my breath about it. Another quick quote form the landlord tenant act:

"Termination for absence or abandonment
According to the law, rental agreements must require that tenants notify their landlord every time they plan to be gone for
more than seven days. If the tenant plans to be gone only two or three days, then finds he will actually be gone for more
than a week, the tenant must notify the landlord as soon as possible.102 This is to help protect the property from damage
such as that caused by freezing pipes.
Tenants who willfully fail to give notice of being gone can be sued by their landlord for 1½ times the actual damages
caused by any calamity occurring during their absence."

This only applies if there was damage from say a pipe leaking or something along those lines during their absence. 

Abandonment only really applies if they are behind on rent. Since they were fully paid up for month, it would just count as an absence. 

As far as the keys go, I have no idea why you paid them for those, just being nice I guess. Always change the locks every tenant. I use electronic ones and don't give out physical keys. Takes me just a few seconds to change out codes and I keep the actual key in a safe at my place. Feel free to hit me up for any further questions. And if I am wrong about any of this someone else can feel free to chime in. God knows I still have lots to learn. 

Lastly, I seriously doubt they will sue you. It is very rare, and they are probably just trying to get money. I would let it ride and see what happens. Worst case you give them their deposit back and its a learning experience.