Eviction: Are all tenants on lease doomed?

Question

Scenario: As a land lord, you have 3 tenants on Section 8 in NYC. The head of house hold (father), the mother and the daughter. The father was the bread winner but he got Alzheimer’s and started to forget making payments and got an eviction letter. So the daughter went to court and fought for her father with his GAL. They have been charged market rent for the months that he missed payments + quarantine months and now owes 15k.

The only solution I came up with is:  just move out because they would have to pay market rent + 15k and that would be hard to afford. But if the eviction goes on her father record does it affect everyone on the lease? Would they be able to find another place to live?

Erik W. · Answer

@Miltiana Holdip, I'm not sure I've got all the necessary information to comment intelligently on this situation except in a general way.

First, it has gone on far too long.  And now it's going to continue going on longer than it ever should have due to eviction moratoriums.

Second, tenants who get more than a month behind seldom ever catch up on rent.  Even if they can "afford" it based on income, often they simply don't pay because to them that's all water under the bridge because you let them live in your home and not pay for it right away.  Tenants thinks like this: "I guess rent wasn't important.  My cell phone is important because they will shut me off if I stiff them months of service charges.  So I will pay my cell phone."  Keep that in mind when deciding how quickly to get these folks out and in the future.

Third, Section 8 doesn't care about you and any unpaid rent.  That's your problem 100%.  If you take your units out of their program, more will fill the void for the "guaranteed" rent....except there are a hundred situations where it's not guaranteed like you found out.  Everyone has to learn the lesson for themselves.

In my state, if I want to legally regain full possession of the property, I must name ALL RESIDENTS on the eviction and include "et all" to ensure that if they moved someone in I don't know about that person is included.  So yes, they will all get evicted and it will go on all of their records.  Life is hard.  Paying rent needs to be a #1 priority.  Every individual on the lease is jointly and severally liable, so they all get the benefits and/or consequences of the lease agreement.  If you like down with dogs, you get fleas.

It's a sad situation.  My FIL was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer at age 55.  He was the finance person for the family.  As he grew older, my MIL had to learn many expensive lessons on her own, many of which were nothing she caused directly or made poor decisions on.  Some were due to bad advice she got,some were due to ignorance, some were due to being perpetually exhausted from trying to care for him, some were due to trying to hold onto things that should have been let go a long time before.   It was what it was.  We were not invited to participate in helping, so we had to observe and help where we could.  I don't think your'e in a position to help these people avoid the negative results of their lack of diligence at this time, unless you want to pay them all money to just move out without an eviction.  "Cash for keys" is an option that works sometimes.

Best wishes!

Anna Sagatelova · Answer

I'm not speaking from experience in NY, only Ohio, but I think it depends on who was listed as financially responsible on both the HAP and the lease.

Elliot Vann · Answer

@Miltiana Holdip

If it’s NY, you are lucky if you can pay them to leave. Otherwise, months and months of eviction proceedings...

Joe Splitrock · Answer

I am not familiar with how these payment plans work. I would ask a couple question:

1. Whos name / credit is tied to the payment plan. In other words if the money is not paid back, does it affect the credit of one or more people?

2. Does the payment plan have a forgiveness clause where part or all if forgiven if they make payments?

3. What is the amount of the payment plan and can the family realistically afford it and keep current on rent?

As far as back to your earlier question of who will end up with evictions on their record. Who is named on the court documents? Is it just the man or more people in the family?

If they are unable to get the payment plan to work, the best advice is telling them to move as fast as possible. That is the biggest mistake tenants make when they are unable and don't plan to pay is staying in the property. They do not wan this to get to the point where a sheriff needs to remove them.

It is very nice of you to help the tenants. These types of situations are difficult to navigate. I hope it works out well.

Miltiana Holdip · Answer

@Joe Splitrock

Hi I’m currently trying to help the tenants with all my might. They’ve been served the 30 day notice but went to court to fight it so they can try to come up with a payment plan or get a one shot deal ( I don’t know if every state has it, but it’s when the government pays off the amount owed and you pay the government back)

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Miltiana Holdip are you looking for advice as the landlord or to help the tenant? Two different recommendations.

Where is this in the eviction process? You mentioned they went to court. Was that just for payment or was that eviction? If they have not been served "notice to vacate", they could leave voluntarily now. Clean up the property the best they can and send a letter certified mail to the landlord that states, they have vacated the property. In addition to the letter, send e-mail and text stating the same thing. Basically if they are no longer occupying the property, there is no reason to evict them which would keep the eviction off their records.

It is a good reminder for all of us when we have older parents, it is best to insert yourself or even take over their finances. That is easier said then done, but it is necessary. Seniors not only make mistakes but are also targets of scams.

Tony Merchan · Answer

@Miltiana Holdip whoever name is on the lease is getting hit . ￼

Joe Splitrock · Answer

She said the tenant doesn't have the money. They were on Section 8 but didn't renew the program, so lost it. Section 8 will not pay the back rent. It does beg the question why the landlord let it go so long. Just a good lesson for landlords out there to take action immediately when rent isn't received. Had the landlord noticed this right away, they potentially could have gotten Section 8 reinstated.

Chris B. · Answer

As a landlord:  If the income was sufficient to pay the rent, and all parties agreed to this and signed a contract, and then payments fell behind only because they were forgotten and for no other reason, then the money to catch up on the rent should be there and used as such immediately.  The landlord can’t forget to pay the mortgage.  The bank has investor money that was lent out and needs to be returned.  There’s no free magical money here.  Everyone owes and payments need to be made.  Alzheimer’s may be the reason for missed payments, but it doesn't mean it can't now be paid once its remembered.

Your suggested solution is certainly not from a landlord.  It’s from tenants that want their cake and to eat it too... a free ride on $15k owed.

The eviction on your record is the last thing you should be worried about.  DO the right thing.

This problem is entirely of the tenants making and entirely in the tenants hands to resolve.  As a landlord, I can work with tenants.  I have compassion for those sick and I would work with a situation like this to create a workable repayment sturcture.  I certainly wouldn't let it get anywhere near this far behind though.  If the tenants are not interested in the effort it will take to resolve this, then that's a reflection on them.  It also reflects poorly on the landlord's business skills to allow this to get this bad.

An eviction should absolutely be on the record of all adults who lived there.  Everyone living there benefited from the $15k in free cash.

Ryan Evans · Answer

So was this was a recent case if the courts factored in the unpaid rent stemming from covid? I didn't know eviction hearings were even going again. Though, if the court ruled that they pay the back rent and won't actually force the eviction then you might be screwed until you can get another hearing. There is almost no chance they will pay $15k+ to get back on track and they likely won't even try to keep up on payments going forward because they already have a negative judgment.

As for who gets it on their record, it's going to be the people on the lease, unless you can prove someone else moved in as Erik said.

Eviction: Are all tenants on lease doomed?

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