Thread: Tenants wont pay rent during sale

Hi thanks for sharing. I suggest you talk to your agent and attorney immediately. As far as I know a tenant has no right to stop paying rent if otherwise not mentioned in the agreement.

I recommend that you do some research for your specific areas laws.

Most areas have a landlord/tenant court in the county courthouse once or twice a week. Find out if your area has one, go and sit in on a session - it will be very educational.

Typically, you won't need an attorney. If you can establish that they are tenants and haven't paid their rent you should be able to file against them. You will need to have the clerk at the courthouse help you with getting the correct forms, etc.

Once they are served, you should get a court date. Arrive at court prepared. You will also need to give the judge an itemized list of what you claim they owe (past months rent, current rent, future rent, court filing fees, sheriff/serving fees, late fees, damages if any and repair costs).

If your tenants aren't on a lease, but you have an agreement on rent amount, etc. (based of their history of payments) then you shouldn't have any problem filing a claim against them and starting the eviction process.

If you get a judgement against them you will be able to file for a garnishment (also through the clerks office).

If you've never gone through this before, it sounds daunting , but really isn't. Again, you don't need an attorney, but that is your choice.

Here's the bottom line: the longer you wait to get them evicted, the longer they can live there without paying rent. A potential buyer won't (likely) want to clean up this kind of mess - at least I wouldn't.

Good luck.

Your tenants will owe you rent up until the day the property changes hands.

I don't know what state you are in, but you need to check with the nearest HUD office and search for the laws in your state. Typically, once the tenant is anywhere from 3-10 days late (depending on the state) with any portion of the rent, you are to immediately serve them an eviction notice.

If they do not pay within the specified amount of time, you file for Writ of Possession. A court date is set and you show up by yourself to explain the situation (or if they do decide to show up, they will be given the change to explain their side - which will be wrong) and you a) will be given the Writ of Possession (meaning you will receive rights to the unit(s) back) and be able to collect on the back rent. Obtaining that money may be a pain in the neck, but do not let them bully you out of not paying their rent.

Best,
Stirling

Your tenant still owes you rent. Just because you are selling the home does not give your tenants the right to stop paying rent. You can give the tenant a three day written notice of termination if they have not paid rent.
This is directly from the California Tenants Handbook:

Three-day notice

A landlord can use a written three-day notice (eviction notice) if the tenant has done any of the following:252

Failed to pay the rent.
Violated any provision of the lease or rental agreement.
Materially damaged the rental property ("committed waste").
Substantially interfered with other tenants ("committed a nuisance").
Used the rental property for an unlawful purpose, such as selling illegal drugs.
If the landlord gives the tenant a three-day notice because the tenant hasn't paid the rent, the notice must accurately state the amount of rent that is due. In addition, the notice must state:

The name, address and telephone number of the person to whom the rent must be paid.
If payment may be made in person, the usual days and hours that the person is available to receive the rent payment. If the address does not accept personal deliveries, then you can mail the rent to the owner at the name and address stated in the three-day notice. If you can show proof that you mailed the rent to the stated name and address (for example, a receipt for certified mail), the law assumes that the rent payment is received by the owner on the date of postmark.
Instead, the notice may state the name, street address and account number of the financial institution where the rent payment may be made (if the institution is within five miles of the unit). If an electronic fund transfer procedure was previously established for paying rent, payment may be made using that procedure.253
The landlord normally cannot require that the tenant pay the past-due rent in cash. (See "Living in the Rental Unit".)

If the three-day notice is based on one of the other four conditions listed above, the notice must either describe the tenant's violation of the lease or rental agreement, or describe the tenant's other improper conduct. The three-day notice must be properly served on the tenant (see Proper Service of Notices).

Depending on the type of violation, the three-day notice demands either (1) that the tenant correct the violation or leave the rental unit, or (2) that the tenant leave the rental unit. If the violation involves something that the tenant can correct (for example, the tenant hasn't paid the rent, or the tenant has a pet but the lease doesn't permit pets), the notice must give the tenant the option to correct the violation.

Failing to pay the rent, and most violations of the terms of a lease or rental agreement, can be corrected. In these situations, the three-day notice must give the tenant the option to correct the violation. However, the other three conditions listed above cannot be corrected, and the three-day notice can simply order the tenant to leave at the end of the three days.

If you pay the rent that is due or correct a correctable violation of the lease or rental agreement during the three-day notice period, the tenancy continues.254 If you attempt to pay all the past-due rent demanded after the three-day period expires, the landlord can either file a lawsuit to evict you or accept the rent payment. If the landlord accepts the rent, the landlord waives (gives up) the right to evict you based on late payment of rent.255

How to count the three days

Begin counting the three days on the first day after the day the notice was served. If the third day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the three-day period will not expire until the following Monday or nonholiday.257 (See "proper service of notices" below for a discussion of service of the notice and the beginning of the notice period.)

PROPER SERVICE OF NOTICES
A landlord's three-day or thirty-day or sixty-day notice to a tenant must be "served" properly to be legally effective. The terms "serve" and "service" refer to procedures required by the law. These procedures are designed to increase the likelihood that the person to whom notice is given actually receives the notice.

A landlord can serve a three-day notice on the tenant in one of three ways: by personal service, by substituted service, or by posting and mailing. The landlord, the landlord's agent, or anyone over 18 can serve a notice on a tenant.

Personal service - To serve you personally, the person serving the notice must hand you the notice (or leave it with you if you refuse to take it).258 The three-day period begins the day after you receive the notice.
Substituted service on another person - If the landlord can't find you at home, the landlord should try to serve you personally at work. If the landlord can't find you at home or at work, the landlord can use "substituted service" instead of serving you personally.

To comply with the rules on substituted service, the person serving the notice must leave the notice with a person of "suitable age and discretion" at your home or work and also mail a copy of the notice to you at home.259 A person of suitable age and discretion normally would be an adult at your home or workplace, or a teenage member of your household.

Service of the notice is legally complete when both of these steps have been completed. The three-day period begins the day after both steps have been completed.
Posting and mailing - If the landlord can't serve the notice on you personally or by substituted service, the notice can be served by taping or tacking a copy to the rental unit in a conspicuous place (such as the front door of the rental unit) and by mailing another copy to you at the rental unit's address.260 (This service method is commonly called "posting and mailing" or "nailing and mailing.")
Service of the notice is not complete until the copy of the notice has been mailed. The three-day period begins the day after the notice was posted and mailed.


This handbook is a great reference for any Landlord/tenant. Here is the link to the whole handbook:
dca.ca.gov/publications/landlordbook/index.shtml

Good luck with getting the money owed to you!

ASA Realty School

Hi all, thanks for information, Nice forum to see and get knowledge about tenant...