unpaid first months rent (Erie: rental, credit, how much)

[mineallsell]

Hi I let these kids move in to my property early in Erie pa, as i got the deposit and half of the rent, I had them sign a lease agreement and said I would hold on to their copy of it until i was paid in full, that was on 11/1/15 well here we are now 11/17/15 they have told me face to face after many of my ignored phone calls they are not paying the money and are prepared to go to court, so i have given them written notice today they must be out by 12/1/15 which is more than the 10 days i am obligated to give them, i am so frustrated as I thought these kids were trustworthy and they have taken full advantage of my kindness and looks like they wont be out of there until the new year now as I have to wait until the first before i can apply for eviction, my question is this, do i have to give them a copy of the lease they signed if they never met the agreement or paid the first months rent in the first place ? so upset and frustrated right now

[guy2073]

They wont be out until February. File on the 1st of December, if you are lucky you will get a hearing scheduled before Christmas, they have 30 days to appeal, you must file for possession after the 30 days, then they have 20 days after that. The worst thing is if they give you money to catch up on the rent at the hearing, then you will have to start all over.

I am not sure about giving them a copy of the lease, I always get my money before I have them sign. If you have never evicted someone before, just act calm and in a professional manner and let the courts do the work. Good luck to you

[saratiku199]

As you have signed copy with you, you don't need to worry about anything. Just try to sent a copy of document in which you wrote that until they didn't leave the house on mentioned date, then you have all the rights to go for police complaint, make this copy on bond paper signed by any magistrate and sent a photo copy of this. This will truly a last warning for them and then after you can go as I suggested earlier. Hope it will help you.

[gg]

You have control of the water don't you? Make sure you screw up their credit.

[Retiredcoach]

This can turn into something very expensive for you. Your best bet would be to consult an attorney immediately. Because the rental process that you utilized was so unconventional, you may need more legal expertise than most of the posters might offer on this forum. Maybe if you PM Pitt Chick, she might be able to offer you considerably more expertise, also.

[Sciulli]

do they give any reason why they won't pay? You are asking for rent and they are basically saying, "Nope, not paying... but we're staying"?? Is there a disagreement over how much rent is or something?

[Herodotus]

Dumb move on your part. No keys until all requirements are fulfilled. That said, the perps will come to regret getting the stain that will go on their record. I always tell new tenants that if they run into serious difficulties (illness, loss of job), to be upfront about it. We will usually let a tenant out of their lease early under those circumstances, provided they've been a good tenant, and provided they agree to allow us to be a bit more intrusive than normal doing showings for prospective new tenants.

[Kippy]

If I were a landlord, I would require a cosigner for any potential tenant that did not have an established rental history. If dealing with kids or college students, I would have required the parents to cosign.

Not sure if that legal or standard practice here in PA, but whenever I rented places as a college student, it was generally required of me.

[Moby Hick]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

you may need more legal expertise than most of the posters might offer on this forum.

Strictly speaking, that's probably always true.

[okaydorothy]

If they signed the lease, and you have it, I don't think you have to give it to them ; they should already have a copy. That is their agreement to pay the rent.

Btdt ; I feel for you. Being a landlord is not for the weak hearted ; learned the hard way.