All Forum Posts by: Gigi Smith

Hi all, hoping someone can give an answer to this.

I am breaking a one year lease and have given 60 days notice. I am moving out on September 15th, my rent is due on the 1st, so I only paid until Sept15th. My landlord told me that not only do I owe rent for the entire month of September, I am also responsible for the rent until they find a new tenant. I thought that as long as I give proper notice to break my lease, I won’t be liable for the rent anymore.

Am I still responsible for the rent until my landlord finds a new tenant? Thank you in advance to anyone who can give some insight!

Quote from @Sylvia B.:

Quote from @Gigi Smith:

He can’t afford to buy a new fridge, he wants me to buy it. He can’t afford storage either. He can barely afford groceries. When he was yelling at me yesterday I calmly informed him that he is free to find another place to live, to which he replied that he wants to live at my unit forever because he loves it and the rent is too expensive everywhere else.

 What he wants is irrelevant. I would tell him that his lease will not be renewed. I don't put up with people yelling at me.

Thank you for the advice. I wonder if I am stuck with him until his lease expires or if I have grounds to get him out due to him violating the lease.

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Gigi Smith:

He can’t afford to buy a new fridge, he wants me to buy it. He can’t afford storage either. He can barely afford groceries. When he was yelling at me yesterday I calmly informed him that he is free to find another place to live, to which he replied that he wants to live at my unit forever because he loves it and the rent is too expensive everywhere else.

 Sounds like you need to raise the rent at lease renewal time.

Let him know that you take care of tenants that take care of you. Ones that complain frequently don't get leases renewed even at a slightly higher renewal rate.

Thank you. Yeah I would get him out today if I could. He is in hysterics over this. His brother just called and threatened to sue me unless I replace the fridge. I told him that according to the lease, it is not my responsibility. 

Quote from @Scott Mac:

Quote from @Gigi Smith:

Hi Scott, thank you for taking the time to answer. 

The drip pan is there and it fine. There is water inside the fridge on the bottom under the crispers. There is water on the floor outside the fridge as well. But I nor the repairman can find where it is coming from. 

Maybe a clogged drain or a frozen over drain (???)

Maybe call a different repair company--you are at the mercy of the tech (I've been told illogical--STUPID things a few times by techs who gave up on trying, and then had another tech breeze through the repair without a problem).

Good Luck!

Maybe! I think I should get another opinion or two to get to the bottom of this.I feel like the tenant is playing games though but how do I prove it?

I agree. He has been nasty to me for quite some time but he is elderly and alone so I put up with it but this has gone on long enough. I get complaints from him every other month. 

I’m thinking about hiring two or three more repairmen (because my tenant obviously won’t do it) and see what they say. If all three can’t find where the water is coming from, then obviously the tenant is putting water there on purpose to make it look like the fridge is leaking. But then what?

He can’t afford to buy a new fridge, he wants me to buy it. He can’t afford storage either. He can barely afford groceries. When he was yelling at me yesterday I calmly informed him that he is free to find another place to live, to which he replied that he wants to live at my unit forever because he loves it and the rent is too expensive everywhere else.

Hi Scott, thank you for taking the time to answer. 

The drip pan is there and it fine. There is water inside the fridge on the bottom under the crispers. There is water on the floor outside the fridge as well. But I nor the repairman can find where it is coming from. 

Hey everyone, I need some advice. I have a tenant who is complaining that his fridge is broken and leaking, but the repairman cannot find the source of the leak and said the fridge is working perfectly. There is water in the bottom of the fridge, but no sign of where the water is coming from.

This tenant is constantly complaining about appliances not working properly. I’ve always ended up having the appliance replaced because no matter how many times I or a repairman fixes it, it somehow “breaks” again. For example last year he was complaining that the toilet was too low for him and wanted me to get him a new one. I said no because there was nothing wrong with the toilet. A week after that he said the toilet is not flushing properly. The plumber said it’s flushing normally. Few days after that, my tenant says the toilet is leaking. There was water on the floor around the toilet but the plumber said there is no leak. The water came from no where. Said the tenant is playing games. Since there was still two years left on his lease, I caved and bought a brand new toilet. He was happy and the complaints stopped.

Now the fridge is “leaking” but the repairman says he cannot find where the water is coming from. I think the tenant is putting water there on purpose and claiming the fridge is leaking when it is not. The repairman took a look at it last night and today my tenant has been calling/texting nonstop complaining that his food will be ruined and his house will be flooded from the leaky fridge. I’m a handyman myself and could not find a source of a leak. I think the tenant is messing with me again because he wants a new fridge (the current one is only 4 years old). He has 11 months left on his lease. Also, his lease states that it is the tenants responsibility to maintain and repair appliances but I have been doing so all these years to be nice. What should I do? Do I call another repairman? Do I tell my tenant to handle it himself? Can I get the tenant out before he lease is up? I cant take this anymore. This tenant is driving me crazy.

Originally posted by @Mike Dymski:

All this stuff about a problem resident, getting nasty, lost in transit, and missing pictures is all just unrelated emotional noise.  You are not asking for advice on what to do...it appears that you have an axe to grind and are simply asking if you can keep the deposit.  And you didn't get the answer you were seeking as every reply recommended simply resending it.  You got a problem resident out and the security deposit covered damages and unpaid rent...time to be happy and move on.

Actually, I was asking for advice on what to do. I was asking whether it is my job to go to the ends of the earth to get her money back to her or if it’s not my problem anymore after an allotted time period. If she even has a claim to it after all this time. Statutes don’t mention that at all for some reason so I needed clarification. The few answers I got yesterday either said send it or call my local Magristrate to know for sure what to do. Obviously the correct answer is to call my local Magistrate, as I’m sure the solution to this problem varies from state to state. So, yeah, I did get the answer I was seeking. Going into detail about the pictures, her attitude, and the letter that never reached her is absolutely not “unrelated emotional noise”, it is explaining the situation and my reluctance to comply with her demand to resend the money to yet another unconfirmed address. I follow the law, not a former tenant with a god complex. Was hoping to find someone online who had dealt with the same situation before but no such luck.

I called my local Magistrate this morning and was advised to go ahead and send it to the new address she gave me, and if that doesn’t reach her too, to just hold onto it until further notice. 

On a side note, I got a rather unpleasant text this afternoon from her reminding me that since it is way past the 30 days I had to send the letter, she is now entitled to her entire security deposit. I reminded her that I did send it within 30 days, but it never reached her. She said it’s my fault the letter never reached her. How..? I told her I sent it to the address she gave me and the people who lived there refused the letter, & the usps couldn’t find her after that as she had no forwarding address. She still says that’s not her problem and threatened to sue me today if I don’t send her the ENTIRE amount back! She argued with me a few months ago after 10 days had passed since she moved out and she hadn’t received her deposit in the mail, and told me that I had 5 days left or she was getting a lawyer. I informed her that I actually had 30 days to send it to her as I intended to deduct a claim. She got mad and said there’s nothing to deduct because she left the house perfect. Told her I have pics of the damage and filth and I will be sending her a copy so she can see for herself. Radio silence after that. Now, months later she says since the letter didn’t reach her with 30 days I lost my right to deduct a claim from her deposit. So...yeah. Starting to think she gave me a bum address on purpose so she could pull this stunt. 

Wow! Big thank you to everyone who responded! I forgot to add that someone wrote ‘AKN’ on the envelope in pen. I found this on google: 

“Addressee Not Known (ANK) - this is usually placed on mail pieces by the carriers who receive delivered mail returned from customers stating the individual isn’t known or doesn’t reside at that address…”

So that’s why it wasn’t delivered to her. But she tells me the usps told her it was lost/ damaged, which doesn’t make sense. The tracking number shows it was delivered to me. Radio silence for a month from her then she texts me today telling me to send another one. What if this one comes back to me too? Another issue is I included with the letter a cd with pictures of the damage and filth she left behind (because she said she left the house in perfect condition) and I don’t have a copy of that cd, which is my fault. I picked about 60 pictures out of 100 and I don’t remember which ones after all this time. I’m not looking forward to doing that again if I don’t have to.

Unfortunately, the law doesn’t state what to do if the itemized list of deductions/deposit gets returned to the landlord as undeliverable. Most people online just advise to keep it unopened in a file somewhere, and they usually never hear from the tenant again. But I did hear from mine. Can a former tenant really hit you up 2, 6, or even 12 months later and demand their deposit back? I had a time frame to send it which I met, but don’t they have a time frame to claim it as well? I just started to think last week that she decided to abandon her deposit because she ignored my texts regarding the letter.

I guess the only way to know for sure is to do as you suggested and call my local Magistrate.