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I found this forum as I was searching for an answer for a problem I have encountered with my tenant. She is a lawyer so she can give me all the jargon about the laws and I wouldn't be able to counter them. Hope you can help.
The problem has two parts.
1. the lease starts on the 15th of January.She decided she had to go to New York for personal reasons and came back on the 19th. So she was not available to get the keys from me. She had told me in an email that she would be getting the keys from me after she came back from New York. I wasn't able to give her the keys until the 23rd because I became very ill. So she is arguing that because I didn't give her the keys until the 23rd that she doesn't have to pay from the 15th through the 23rd. She is also telling that I could have mailed the keys to her old address. I don't agree with her on this one. I don't remember ever hearing her say that to me but then again is this something I should have done?
2. So she mailed me the check almost 20 days later than when it was due. I told her she had to pay late fees. The lease says that "if any installment of rent is not received by the Landlord within five days from the due date, the Tenant agrees to pay an administrative charge of 10% of month rent." But she is again being a lawyer and telling me that it is 10% of "rent due." What should I do??
Now I understand why people don't like lawyers. I was very nice to her before all of this happened. She has two pets and I only asked for one security deposit. I allowed her to spend almost $200.00 on various parts of the house so that she could feel at home. I just feel that she is abusing my mannerism.
Contact another lawyer Dont mention names till you tell the complete story & he/she gives you advice....If your tenant is correct I still would not say any names. Sounds like this person has no compassion since you were sick....
I found this forum as I was searching for an answer for a problem I have encountered with my tenant. She is a lawyer so she can give me all the jargon about the laws and I wouldn't be able to counter them. Hope you can help.
The problem has two parts.
1. the lease starts on the 15th of January.She decided she had to go to New York for personal reasons and came back on the 19th. So she was not available to get the keys from me. She had told me in an email that she would be getting the keys from me after she came back from New York. I wasn't able to give her the keys until the 23rd because I became very ill. So she is arguing that because I didn't give her the keys until the 23rd that she doesn't have to pay from the 15th through the 23rd. She is also telling that I could have mailed the keys to her old address. I don't agree with her on this one. I don't remember ever hearing her say that to me but then again is this something I should have done?
2. So she mailed me the check almost 20 days later than when it was due. I told her she had to pay late fees. The lease says that "if any installment of rent is not received by the Landlord within five days from the due date, the Tenant agrees to pay an administrative charge of 10% of month rent." But she is again being a lawyer and telling me that it is 10% of "rent due." What should I do??
Now I understand why people don't like lawyers. I was very nice to her before all of this happened. She has two pets and I only asked for one security deposit. I allowed her to spend almost $200.00 on various parts of the house so that she could feel at home. I just feel that she is abusing my mannerism.
If you can help in anyway, I would appreciate it.
Thanks!!
Another reason why I try not to rent to any one in the legal profession.
I don't quite understand part two of the problem, but, legality aside, I would tend to agree with your tenant on part one. She wasn't able to gain access to her home until the 23rd - nothing was requiring her to move in the first day of the lease, and there were no other arrangements made to get her the key. Is the lateness of the rent due to not being able to move in for an extra week?
Also, you didn't have to allow her to move in with pets or spend $200 on amenities. It seems unfair to suggest she is abusing something you agreed to.
Hmmm...I have to agree. If I were not allowed access for time, then I wouldn't pay for those days either. No matter what YOUR reason is for not being able to get the keys to her, the bottom line is that she didn't have the access which she was told she'd have and which she very likely was depending upon.
My feeling is that she should pay for the 15th-18th since that was the deal to start with, and that from the 19th-23rd (five days) should be prorated because you failed to get the keys to her. If she didn't ask for you to mail her the keys, she cannot complain now that that is what you should have done.
As far as late fees go, if the rent was late, it was late.
I'm going to have to agree with the two above me. Even if you were in the hospital, it's still your responsibility to get the keys to the tenant, either by mail or by enlisting someone to run them over. Luckily she had somewhere to stay- in many cases, she would have had to pay for a hotel last minute out of pocket. Not to mention, if she had a moving truck to move her things over, that's another cost. Even friends helping her move in would have been severely inconvenienced. I personally would not pay rent for time where I was not given access to my apartment. It's not the tenant's responsibility to be compassionate about your illness when that is causing her financial and logistical inconveniences.
However, she certainly sounds in the wrong on the late payment. I would consult a lawyer about that if this continues to be a problem.
I feel your pain but this kind of start and you are in for a rough ride,,,,we rented our...middle of the month June 07,we gave them the keys a few days early and they were to send the deposit and half month rent of the 15th...we got it on the 12 of the following month,since then they have paid rent late around the 7-11 th every month and has refused to pay late fees and sent a a bad check to cover the late fees,Renters insurance is required by the Lease and they have yet to provide a policy even after 6 letters requesting,,,then winter came and complained the heating bill was high so we started replacing all the windows with double pane,as well as the doors and adding storm doors,,for last 2 months they have refused to let contractor inside to finish trim inside,they have refused to even let me in to look at the work and final straw was a bad check for this months rent...we decided to evict for non payment and lease violation and hope the process goes smoothly...I gut tells me they will try to file bankruptcy to slow the process,but my lawyer has assured me bankruptcy can no longer stop evictions whoo hoo....I want these people out of the house yesterday,but it sounds like you may eventually get hell from this tenant...make sure everything you do is by the book in your State or she will enjoy many months in your place for free...
Thank you all for your help. She agreed to pay until the 19th as you suggested.
In regards to the 10%, have her pay 10% of the rent due. Its easier than fighting with her about what the document really means. Regardless of what the month's rent normally is. If its 20 days late, its 20 days late.
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