Landlords - How do you find a tenant who skipped? (lease, rental)

[CptnRn]

I assuming I need their address in order to sue them in small claims court. I have never had to do this before. How can I find the address for a tenant who skipped out on the last month of a lease and left no forwarding address? I already have SS# and employer information from the lease application.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[STT Resident]

In order for them to be sued you need to know where they are physically in order to have them served. Enlist either the services of a Marshall via your local Small Claims Court or a private and bonded licensed independent server and give them all the information you have. They can legitimately track down through SS# and employer and the minimal cost is worth it. Of course they have their limitations and won't spend six months on the job traipsing from state to state but they'll ket you know the deal and the price from the get-go. Go get them and good luck!

[NY Annie]

There are 2 ways to get a forwarding address from the US Postal Service.

1. Send mail to them at the last known address. Under the return address write "address service requested". Send it first class mail and you will get info from the post office on where the mail is now being delivered. There is a charge when you get the new address.

2. Go to the main post office for the old address and fill out a "Freedom of Information Act Request Form" requesting the forwarding address.


Then you can decide whether to sue in small claims court. If they have moved to Costa Rica or Alaska and you're in Ohio, you might let it go.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I assuming I need their address in order to sue them in small claims court. I have never had to do this before. How can I find the address for a tenant who skipped out on the last month of a lease and left no forwarding address? I already have SS# and employer information from the lease application.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Check the statutes for your state. In some states you can simply publish this information in a newspaper for a period of time rather than have them served personally.

20yrsinBranson

[zz4guy]

Do you have their license plate number? Now you know what to put on your next rental application

[ShaneSA]

Send it to a collection agency. it's a valid debt and let them chase them down. Why spend the time and effort for nothing. Let someone else do it. Any money you get is more than you would ever see chasing them in court.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

I assuming I need their address in order to sue them in small claims court. I have never had to do this before. How can I find the address for a tenant who skipped out on the last month of a lease and left no forwarding address? I already have SS# and employer information from the lease application.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Very hard to find in most cases...that is why you charge last month rent upfront!....and sec. deposit!

Welcome to the renting world.

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by ShaneSA

Send it to a collection agency. it's a valid debt and let them chase them down. Why spend the time and effort for nothing. Let someone else do it. Any money you get is more than you would ever see chasing them in court.

First you need a judgement and in order to get a judgment you need to have them served which is impossible if you don't have a physical address or place of work.

I had one of my tenants served at his job which he so proudly told me about ! I guess Macy didn't like it and fired him...

[NJGOAT]

It's generally a real pain and people here have given good advice on how to go about it. If they have moved to another state, it might just not be worth the hassle.

[CptnRn]

Thanks for all the great advice, Y'all have given me several good ideas to follow up on.

Charging that last month's rent up front is a good idea, its just not very commonly done in my market area.