Need advice from landlords- a lease broken (apartment, tenant, eviction)

[MomOfToo]

Hello folks,

My husband and I own 3 condos (in CT) that we rent out & we need some advice. We rented one of our condos out to two couples and it was the biggest mistake. Their lease is up July 31st, 2009 but they weren't getting along so they moved out early. They said they would pay the rent through the end of the lease (June/July) Well they don't plan on it.My husband got a call from a prospective renter, he called up one of the old tenants that was in charge of everything and asked him if he could go in...the tenant said yes, the is is located whereever. Fine, my husband goes in and shows the place. 10 mins later he gets a call from the guy's girlfriend and she is flipping out saying we can't do that, they need 24 hour notice. No, your boyfriend gave the okay...why would he tell him where the key is then correct? Well the boyfriend lied to her not to hear her mouth like he usually does and she called the cops. Told the cop my husband broke into the condo through the living room screen, she even bent it to make it looke like he did! The cop seemed to believe my husband...I will be going to the police station to get a copy of the report. Anyway, we received a letter from them stating that they are requesting they get their security deposit back because he violated the lease by not giving 24 hour notice. (Mind you they moved out the next day after that incident!) But they broke the lease, never paid for June rent. Now I find out that they were smoking in the apartment. A realtor went in yesterday to show it and it reaked of cigerette smoke! Both people along side the unit do not smoke, but my tenants do. The lease statesno smoking in the unit. Are they entitled to their secuirty deposit if they broke the lease first? We've have gotten alot of calls of complaints from other neighbors about late night parties, smoking pot in the garage which cleary states in the lease about drug use and losing their deposit and getting kicked out...which I wish we did....also, they got two dogs with out telling us...the lease stated a dogs, not dogs and the only reason it said that in the lease was because someone before them that was going to lease the apartment had a small dog and my husband forgot to take that out. But verbally we told them if they get a dog, we need to know what kind before they buy it...we found out from neighbors about the dogs, they tried to hide it from us. Also, the dogs did some damage to a $2000 Mantle and some molding and carpets. The tenant in charge fixed all of it, supposedly. The carpets were supposed to be professionally cleaned upon them exiting which was not professionally done as stated in the lease but done by them. I am going there today to see how it looks. What is your take on this? They've been a thorn in our side from the beginning. I am thinking they were looking for any excuse to get out of paying out the last two months and this was their way of doing it. Their rent has been late on times and lots of excuses why...my husband has always been fair and have given them alot of chances to get straight, not worth it to be nice, a big lesson learned. So do they get their secuirty back or not entitled to it?

[Naptowner]

I don't know CT law, but in general, the security deposit would be a setoff against any amounts they owed you after the lease is up, whether that's for damages or rent. In my state, you have to provide an itemized list of damages within a certain amount of time, otherwise you can't keep the deposit, but other states' laws are different. Even if you did violate the lease by failing to provide 24 hour notice (assuming that's provided for in the lease or by statute), they probably can't recover damages equaling the unpaid rent plus the security deposit for that.

You should make a list of the damage, then calculate the cost of repairing it by getting estimates for the repair work. If you're painting and replacing the carpet, the cigarette smoke smell may not be an issue by the time you're done. If that's not the case, there are cleaning services that deodorize as well. When you have these numbers, subtract them from the security deposit along with the unpaid rent for June, and if you don't have a new tenant in there by July, subtract the July rent too. The remainder is what they would be owed in my state. In your state things may be a little different, but as a general rule, they would have to show they were damaged somehow by your entry into the apartment for them to recover.

[MomOfToo]

Thanks for responding. Do you think they are entitled to their security back if two months rent is still owed even if there are no damages? The security is 2K and the rent is $1800. If I need to get the place deoderized and lets say that costs $200, they can't collect anything right? They claim the lease is null&void because husband entered the apartment but he had the ok from the tenant that makes the decisions for them. How else would my husband have gotten in then? He never broke into the place. I guess I have to see what the report from the police says. The damages I guess would be the smell, welostaprostpective tenant because of the smell...the lease stated no smoking.

[bentlebee]

No you don't have to pay anything back. They broke the lease on several occasions and didn't pay rent...what more do they need to do to convince you you don't owe them anything!

You should be happy they are gone and don't worry they can't and won't sue you and if they do, let's bring it on. You have enough witnesses to proof who is right and who is wrong and part of the proof is the lease in which is stated, "no smoking", "pets, etc...

[Naptowner]

Understand that I'm speaking in generalities because landlord-tenant law varies somewhat from state to state. I'm an Indiana lawyer, not admitted to practice in CT, and I'm not familiar with CT landlord-tenant law.

They owe you for unpaid rent during the remainder of the lease. I assume this is $900 for June and will be $900 for July if you cannot get rent for July - but that's four weeks away - plenty of time for you to find a new tenant. In all likelihood they will only owe $900 for back rent, plus interest.

They are also liable for damages over and above normal wear and tear. Let's say you spend $200 in cleaning and deodorizing the smoke. From their $2000 deposit you subtract any unpaid rent and the cost of any damages for which they are liable. So if it's one month of rent and $200 in damages, you subtract the $1100 from their security deposit and send them a check for the rest. In most states you cannot "double-dip," meaning you can't collect unpaid rent from the old tenant for July while charging a new tenant for July rent.

Get off the 'unauthorized access' issue. First of all, you know it's bogus. Second of all, even if it were unauthorized, a judge won't award them $2000 in damages just because of a single violation. That would, at worst, be cause for them to terminate the lease, but it's unlikely they could recover any money damages from you for that. Unless the contract (lease) contains language to that effect, a single violation doesn't make a lease "null and void."

[specficer]

You should get your phone records as well showing the call from your husband to the male tenant.

[MomOfToo]

I went to the police station but the clerk couldn't find any calls about this...then she just called me saying that she found the complaint...the officer basically closed the case because he most likely believed my husband. I will go tomorrow to pick up a copy. The rent is $1800 a month and we collected $2000 in security so that would only cover one months rent (June) and maybe the cleaning of the rugs because they never cleaned it which they were supposed to because its states that in the lease. So we won't be double dipping in rent or anything. So they basically don't have a leg to stand on? Say my husband did violate the 24 hour notice thing (which he didn't) that wouldn't begrounds for them to say the lease is "null & void?" They already broke the lease and we have emails to prove that.

[Naptowner]

Again, the standard disclaimer - I'm just talking in generalities, and there may be something in CT law that is the exact opposite of what I'm saying.

Just as a side note, "null & void" is an archaic legalese expression that doesn't mean much in law nowadays, although a lot of people use it, usually nonlawyers who want to sound like they know what they're talking about. In some circumstances, a contract can be "void," meaning it is unenforceable, as though the contract doesn't exist. This might still leave the parties to the contract with some legal rights, such as equitable rights. Anyway, in this case, if you violated the notice provision of the lease by entering the apartment early, that would be a breach of contract. The contract isn't "void" - it still exists, but you breached it, and several things could happen because of that breach. The tenant could terminate the contract, meaning that the lease would no longer be valid, or you could be liable for damages. Just as the tenant breached the contract by smoking in the apartment or having multiple dogs. But the big question is whether the tenant would be entitled to any damages for your breach.

In a lawsuit, you have to prove a) there is a valid contract; b) the other party breached it; and c) that you were damaged as a result. Unless there is some provision in your state and/or local statutes, or there is something in your lease about damages for unauthorized entry (and I doubt there is), it's unlikely that the tenant would be entitled to recover any damages from you for the entry - it was short, it doesn't sound like anyone was even home at the time, so it didn't significantly deprive the tenant from use of the property, and it didn't cost the tenant any money. Although you never know what a small claims judge will do, and it's not inconceivable that a judge could award some nominal damages, it's hard to imagine this could amount to more than one day's rent, or $60. And I think that's a long shot.

What would be more likely is that the breach would entitle the tenant to terminate the lease. But in this case, the tenant would have to move out. If the tenant is still living there, she has to pay rent. Even if the lease were "void," the tenant would be unjustly enriched if she were allowed to remain in the property for a month without paying any rent. If the lease were truly "void," the tenant would have no right to be in the property anyway. So no, the tenant doesn't have a leg to stand on if she is claiming that a violation of the notice provision would entitle her to stay in the property for a month rent-free. And I can't imagine a judge ruling that a single unauthorized entry would be grounds to allow the tenant to break the lease and move out with no notice.

Again, this is just general advice, and things may be different where you are. If you end up in court, you need to organize your thoughts by writing down what happened. Make an outline with dates and events. Stick to the important stuff and don't get sidetracked on minor issues (like the fact that your husband mistakenly left the dog provision in the lease). Tell your story so that it makes sense, and have copies of all the pertinent documents. You want to go through and say here's the lease, and on such and such date we discovered the tenant was smoking, and on such and such date we discovered the tenant had dogs, and on such and such date, tenant failed to pay the rent, and so forth. Don't make the tenant's argument for her about the entry.

[ShaneSA]

Stop worrying about the tenants. The security is there to cover damages and non-paid rent. You have both. Forget about the "illegal entry". It's a dead issue. Stop wasting your time playing games with losers who moved out and have no intention of paying you.
Get the condo ready to rent and hopefully, rent it starting July 1. If you have rental p[roperty, it seems you always have to learn from the losers who work your last nerve to get something for nothing.
As you said, it's a hard lesson learned, move on and be a better LL for it.
I've told people in the past, never take a sob story on why the rent is late. Exercise your rights and begin eviction according to state laws and be firm. Your not there to make thier life easier, it's a business.
Best of luck with the future, I'm sure you will do well.

[MomOfToo]

ShaneSA you are sooo right...not going to be the nicey nice LL anymore.

As far as her moving out..she was moving out the next day after my husband went in..they already broke the lease because the two couples were not getting along so they broke it two months early. My realtor is helping mewrite a letter back to the tenants about things that needed to be repaired because of them..at that time I will tell them that because they broke the lease early and failed to pay the rent through the end of the lease, they will not be getting their deposit back. I believe they are looking for an excuse to get the money back and using hubby's supposedly illegal entry as a way to get it.