What to do about tenant who is late with rent and a tenant who is incarcerated?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

What to do about tenant who is late with rent and a tenant who is incarcerated?

We have an apartment building with 14 apartments. One tenant is $1100 behind on rent, do we have to go to the court to evict with this license? Also, another tenant just got arrested, what can I do about their apartment? What do I do with their stuff?

Asked on June 21, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Florida

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

1) You can evict a tenant for non- or late payment, but must do this through the courts, with an eviction action; landlords may never resort to "self-help" evictions and just lock tenants out. If they do, they will be liable  to the tenant for unlawful eviction.

2) If the rent is paid by or on behalf of the incarcerated tenant and he/she does not violate any material (important) lease terms, you'd have to keep renting to him or her. If the rent is not paid, you may evict him or her for nonpaymet. You'd have to make sure you serve the summons and complaint on the tenant properly, which can be tricky if he/she is in jail.

3) Until a tenant is evicted by court action, you can do nothing about his or her belongings. After eviction, you can dispose of abandoned tenant property after the appropriate time (generally at least 30 days) and after having provided the proper notice to  the tenant. A landlord-tenant attorney can help you with this, or you should be able to find the correct information from your local landlord-tenant court.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption