Stuck In A Mess - Illegal Subletters, Please Help!

[Steve DellaPelle]

Here is my situation.

October 2020, Tenant A moved in.

Approx. April 2021, Tenant A sublets her apartment ILLEGALLY to Tenant B (no landlord approval, lease clearly states it's illegal to sublet).

No rent is given from Tenant A or Tenant B for months.

September 2021, we find out Tenant A was collecting rent from Tenant B but not giving it to us.

By a miracle, we end up collecting every penny that was owed from Tenant A.

October 2021, Tenant A's lease ends.

Tenant B is still in the apartment.

Shocker, they do NOT have good credit and they have a prior eviction on record.

If we want to get them out in today's difficult COVID-19 landlording world, how can we go about it?

[Greg M.]

Mistake #1 was you should have evicted when they sublet. In most places, the ban on evictions was basically due to non-payment. You could still evict for other reasons.

Allowing Tenant B to stay in the unit basically accepted them as a tenant. If you don't want them as tenants, you need to file for eviction if possible. That may or may not be possible given your location (example: are you required to renew leases in your area?). 

FYI, Tenant A could be on the hook for your legal expenses and lost rent since they were the responsible party. 

As always, consult a lawyer. The couple hundred you're going to spend can save you money, time, and trouble.