Can I kick out a tenant on a month to month lease in 10 days? (Pittsburgh: renters, insurance)

[greg42]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Animal control called back saying they have no jurisdiction over cats in mt lebo. he told me to call Humane society which i did and left mssg.
Then he tells me it's against the law to abandon an animal and if i can proof it's theirs - saved FB pics - they will be sued by someone in Animal friend's, a lady Cathy Hecker, that i need to call. It's quite serious they can even do jail time for such thing.

Animal Friends has officers who have some jurisdiction for humane investigations at least in Allegheny County. They have an additional officer now but Kathy Hecker is the chief. Abandoning the animal is covered under the cruelty laws of Pennsylvania so they can investigate abandoning a cat as cruelty. Not sure how that all turns out but it can't hurt to report it.

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Their credit history was clean. They were young, 30 and 31. They saw my ad on cl but I trusted them cuz the guy's mom lives like 2 houses down from me. Literally. The guy grew up on his mom's house while I was living there. They were educated people, good jobs, dressed clean. I had no idea.

It's just amazing how this can spiral so far out of control from here. Have to wonder what is going through their heads. Just insane.

[XRiteMA98]

Somebody who has seen the destruction of the property told me to call the police and complain about vandalism. Anybody done that?

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by XRiteMA98

Somebody who has seen the destruction of the property told me to call the police and complain about vandalism. Anybody done that?

Why do you need to know if someone has done it? Just call. At least you'll get a police report. Don't babble about details when talking to anyone, not even the police. You don't want the tenants to find out the water company is going to give you their new address. They could call and complain to the township, and then you won't get the address. Remember, they are from this township. Their mother lives in this township. They know people. You don't want them to hear your plans ahead of time.

As for credit rating, it means nothing. Many responsible people don't even use credit because they prefer to not carry debt. My children's landlords required landlord references. They called to check them too.

[XRiteMA98]

Thanks Hopes. I spoke with a police officer on the phone. he instructed me to go to the house and call 911 which I plan to do tonight after work.
I faxed a copy of the lease and a formal request to the water company but they didn't get back to me yet. I also mailed to the house a letter for the tenants with "redirect service request" or smth like that. I found on line. If the tenants left a forwarding address with the post office that letter will be back to me with their new address. If this fails I am going to request a Freedom of Information Act to get their address. If this fails I'll hire a private investigator.

[SuburbanPioneer]

Is it legal in PA to serve them at work? if so I would just do that...

[XRiteMA98]

Thanks. Good question for my lawyer. I see that other states allow it, if other means of serving them failed, but other states consider damages over 500usd vandalism and they file police reports.

Last night I called the cops. A police officer showed up and said it wasn't their jurisdiction. It's civil.

The only way he helped me was by calling the animal control to bring a cat trap. the cat left behind was hiding inside of a half chewed spring box.

Also when I got to the property there was a stream of water in the street. The water service has been restored but there's something wrong. I think a pipe is damaged. As soon as I shut off the water in the basement the stream in the street dissapeared.

[XRiteMA98]

My neighbor came over and was horrified. The smell is just terrible. Of did i tell you the left the fridge unplugged full of food and it is rotting? shrimp especially. Then he told me a similar story when he had 3 units and bad tenants and this is why he is not a landlord anymore.

[Copanut]

You certainly are the poster child for having bad tenants. So many people complain about slum landlords, but never see the other side. The worst I had was people lying about having dogs. Stopped by one day and saw 2 in the yard. When I questioned them they said they were babysitting them. Yeah, for sure. Did not renew their lease and spent hours cleaning the rugs.

You've probably lost 3 months rental income in all the money you will spend getting the place back in shape.

Good luck!

[SuburbanPioneer]

Starting afresh is great.

I would have waited the required 30 days before throwing their stuff though. If it does come down to a court hearing, I would want to appear as the one doing everything by the book and them breaking all the rules.

Good luck.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

If it does come down to a court hearing, I would want to appear as the one doing everything by the book and them breaking all the rules.

Exactly. Judges rule by their hearts sometimes. Any question of the OP's behavior could ruin her entire case. Throwing out the stuff probably won't be a big deal as long as she doesn't do anything else that would raise eyebrows. That's why she needs to be careful about appearing to harass them in any way.