Inherited tenant in jail...

[Kurt K.]

Hi everyone. I just found out that an inherited tenant that has been late on rent has been thrown in jail yesterday for home invasion. Apparently he had his brother go to the apartment and take everything that was his out of there. While, I will lose $170 in late rent from last month his security deposit will cover this month and it was his last month on the lease anyway.

But my question is, In this apartment he paid his own utilities... and I'm going to go out on a limb and say he hasn't paid February's bill yet. I haven't called the utility company, but am I obligated to pay for his unpaid bill? Or is that strictly between him and the Utility company?

Thanks everyone!

edit: I also realize that if I'm fast to rent it again I can actually make up for his lost late rent by the overlap!

[Rob K.]

Originally posted by Kurt K.:

But for arguments sake, what I'm asking is, If the tenant is in jail, the unit is COMPLETELY empty. Can I rent it out to someone new now? Do I have to wait till his lease is up in April? OR do I have to evict a tenant that is in jail and has moved out completely?

What if there's still stuff in the house, you get rid of it, the tenant posts bail and comes home to find that the locks have been changed and all his stuff is gone?

This is what I mean about a gray area.

I would go to the house and see if everything is out. If so, I would take pictures, change the locks, and call it a day and re-rent it.

If there's some stuff there and it's junk, I would discreetly get rid of it, take pictures, and deny (til you die) that there was anything there.

If there's good stuff there (furniture, clothes, tools, appliances, medication, etc.) I would serve a seven day notice for non payment and evict.

I guess you will no when you go there what the scene is like. I wish you luck. I've been there.