Tenant left, but management says to pay legal costs anyways

[Henry Der]

Have a few rental suites in Memphis TN who received eviction notices. The Management company checked and they have left.  I thought, great, let's forget about paying the legal costs for court dates, hearings, etc. stop all that, and start renovating.  Management co says I should pay legal costs to complete the process...  I say, what?  After they have damaged the place, not paid rent for 12 month, stolen appliances, and you want me to do what?  They said they can come back and claim ... blah blah blah.  I said they will never come back, otherwise they will have to face paying back 12 months rent....  blah blah blah.  I know management companies like to do things by the book as they are liable for things, and it's not on their backs to keep on losing $$$ in the pandemic...

What is your advice here?  

[Nathan Gesner]

Originally posted by @Henry Der:

Have a few rental suites in Memphis TN who received eviction notices. The Management company checked and they have left.  I thought, great, let's forget about paying the legal costs for court dates, hearings, etc. stop all that, and start renovating.  Management co says I should pay legal costs to complete the process...  I say, what?  After they have damaged the place, not paid rent for 12 month, stolen appliances, and you want me to do what?  They said they can come back and claim ... blah blah blah.  I said they will never come back, otherwise they will have to face paying back 12 months rent....  blah blah blah.  I know management companies like to do things by the book as they are liable for things, and it's not on their backs to keep on losing $$$ in the pandemic...

What is your advice here?  

Your property manager is probably correct, for a couple reasons. First, it closes the door to ensure the Tenant never comes back and claims something against you. More importantly, you should be seeking a judgment for what's owed which can then be sent to collections. You may never see a dime of it, but at least you've given it a shot and it will sit on their credit report and prevent them from harming someone else or buying a new car with their stimulus check.

I'm just curious how they managed to not pay rent for 12 months? That means they stopped paying before COVID. It also means that they weren't paying even when the eviction moratorium was lifted. 

Maybe your manager has a legit reason. I manage 400 rentals and didn't have a single renter get more than 30 days behind on rent except for two that were making regular payments, showing proof they were applying for assistance, and they communicated regularly. I can understand letting things go 1-2 months, but not 12.