Tenant Move in/out fees (apartment, lease, eviction, rental)

[Unknownuser42]

Here is the situation. I rented to a tenant and they moved out and left a large couch, large table and a propane grill pit. Combined value is less than $300. The other things that they had could be carried in a single hand. In the rental agreement that they signed at the start of their lease it stated "Bedroom is not furnished. Tenant may move in an air mattress, other incidentals (toiletries, etc), lamp, small bed side cabinet. If additional larger furniture is wanted tenate must inform landlord and pay move in/out fee. If tenant does not get permission they are responsible for paying resultant fine given by HOA." additionally the lease specifies that they will comply to all the HOA, rules, bylaws and CC&Rs. The HOA documentation states "Owners and tenants shall give 24 hours notice to the property management company to allow for padding of elevators, etc. If any damage is caused to the common area during moving, the homeowner of record at the time of the move will be held responsible for the costs of repairs and/or replacement. If the Management Company is not notified of the move-in, the unit owner is subject to an assessment of a fine." it goes on to say "There is a $200 move-in fee assessed to homeowners. When tenants move in, the homeowner will be billed the $200." I have contacted the HOA and they specified the fee needs to be paid to move these large items out.

Question: Am I legally able to withhold their belonging till they satisfy the lease and pay the fee?

Thanks in advance.

[jdm2008]

Originally Posted by Unknownuser42

Here is the situation. I rented to a tenant and they moved out and left a large couch, large table and a propane grill pit. Combined value is less than $300. The other things that they had could be carried in a single hand. In the rental agreement that they signed at the start of their lease it stated "Bedroom is not furnished. Tenant may move in an air mattress, other incidentals (toiletries, etc), lamp, small bed side cabinet. If additional larger furniture is wanted tenate must inform landlord and pay move in/out fee. If tenant does not get permission they are responsible for paying resultant fine given by HOA." additionally the lease specifies that they will comply to all the HOA, rules, bylaws and CC&Rs. The HOA documentation states "Owners and tenants shall give 24 hours notice to the property management company to allow for padding of elevators, etc. If any damage is caused to the common area during moving, the homeowner of record at the time of the move will be held responsible for the costs of repairs and/or replacement. If the Management Company is not notified of the move-in, the unit owner is subject to an assessment of a fine." it goes on to say "There is a $200 move-in fee assessed to homeowners. When tenants move in, the homeowner will be billed the $200." I have contacted the HOA and they specified the fee needs to be paid to move these large items out.

Question: Am I legally able to withhold their belonging till they satisfy the lease and pay the fee?

Thanks in advance.

This is a bizarre clause. I'm betting if they come up with the police they will be able to get their things. Is the HOA saying they are going to stop you by force from moving these things from your home?
I don't blame them, I wouldn't pay such a nonsense fee either.

[STT Resident]

HOA rules and regulations never cease to amaze me and this one is overwhelmingly ludicrous. That said, the tenants signed a lease with you agreeing to pay the "moving fee" so if they want the items then either they pay you or you deduct it from their security deposit. If they abandon the property then you dispose of it in accordance with your state laws. You do realize that as long as they still have possessions in the unit they're legally still tenants and liable to pay rent?

[eevee188]

Take it out of their security deposit. Generally if the items left behind are worth less than a certain amount, you can assume they have abandoned them and throw them out. There's an abandonment clause, you'll have to look it up for your state. It's likely they do NOT still have possession of the apartment, you should be okay on that front.

That is an incredibly bizarre HOA fee, but the tenant agreed to it in the lease, so use their security deposit for it.

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by Unknownuser42

Here is the situation. I rented to a tenant and they moved out and left a large couch, large table and a propane grill pit. Combined value is less than $300. The other things that they had could be carried in a single hand. In the rental agreement that they signed at the start of their lease it stated "Bedroom is not furnished. Tenant may move in an air mattress, other incidentals (toiletries, etc), lamp, small bed side cabinet. If additional larger furniture is wanted tenate must inform landlord and pay move in/out fee. If tenant does not get permission they are responsible for paying resultant fine given by HOA." additionally the lease specifies that they will comply to all the HOA, rules, bylaws and CC&Rs. The HOA documentation states "Owners and tenants shall give 24 hours notice to the property management company to allow for padding of elevators, etc. If any damage is caused to the common area during moving, the homeowner of record at the time of the move will be held responsible for the costs of repairs and/or replacement. If the Management Company is not notified of the move-in, the unit owner is subject to an assessment of a fine." it goes on to say "There is a $200 move-in fee assessed to homeowners. When tenants move in, the homeowner will be billed the $200." I have contacted the HOA and they specified the fee needs to be paid to move these large items out.

Question: Am I legally able to withhold their belonging till they satisfy the lease and pay the fee?

Thanks in advance.

I agree that is the craziest clause I've ever seen, but it being the case, I would have charged the $200 to the tenant up front, instead of trying to restrict what furniture they could have. Tenants are never going to abide with a clause that says they can't have a bed, a couch or a kitchen table, even if they say they will.

Assuming they have relinquished possession, just take it out of their deposit, pay the fee and move the stuff out. However, you'll need to check your state law to see if you can dispose of those belongings or if you have to store them or even go through the eviction process. I have a clause in my lease that any belongings left behind after possession is returned can be disposed of, otherwise, I would have to store them. Even with that, if the tenants just leave in the middle of the night and leave all their stuff behind, I still have to go through the eviction process, because they never relinquished possession. The details of exactly what happened will dictate what you need to do now.

In my state, if you want to hold the belongings "hostage" for payment, you have to go through the eviction process. You go through the whole process, then the sheriff moves the belongings out, then if the tenant wants their stuff back, they have to pay everything they owe you plus legal fees and moving and storage fees.

What state you are in is important too. I know someone in California, who (years ago) had a tenant move out, left behind basically garbage. The LL went in and cleaned the house out, and the tenant sued and said they had left behind jewelry, etc and that the LL stole them. He spent so much money defending himself in court, he eventually deeded the rental house over to his attorney for payment of legal fees. So you have to make sure you follow the law exactly.