Hello, I am a 24 yr old amateur lessor in Florida. I have a tenant who has been late multiple times and recently informed another tenant that he was going to leave one day before the rent is due(7/12/12). I heard this and in a panic changed the rent due date to the 5th(which I'm pretty sure I can't do). Anyway we came to an agreement that he would pay half on the 5th and the rest on the 12th. It is now the 7th and I have nothing in my hands. Since this is a month to month verbal agreement, can I serve him the 15 day notice to vacate and still charge for July's rent?

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Originally Posted by nmh881

Hello, I am a 24 yr old amateur lessor in Florida. I have a tenant who has been late multiple times and recently informed another tenant that he was going to leave one day before the rent is due(7/12/12). I heard this and in a panic changed the rent due date to the 5th(which I'm pretty sure I can't do). Anyway we came to an agreement that he would pay half on the 5th and the rest on the 12th. It is now the 7th and I have nothing in my hands. Since this is a month to month verbal agreement, can I serve him the 15 day notice to vacate and still charge for July's rent?

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Do it in writing... don't do it verbally.

He still legally owes the rent up until the day he's tossed out.

An amateur lessor is likely to get burnt.

You are right you cannot change the rental due date, even though it is a verbal lease.

If the rental period is monthly then you have to give him a 15 day notice PRIOR to the expiration of his rental period. In other words, if the rental period runs from the 12th to the 12th, then you have to give him notice at least 15 days prior to AUGUST 12th that he has to be out by AUGUST 12th.

But this notice period works BOTH ways. So he has to give you written notice 15 days prior to the end of the rental period or he is responsible for that period. If he plans on skipping out prior to 7/12 that does not mean he won't owe the July rent. So let him skip out, this means you can retain his deposit to apply towards the July rent. If there are any other damages or expenses you would have to sue him for anything not covered by the deposit.

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Originally Posted by smoothy

He still legally owes the rent up until the day he's tossed out.

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Not quite. He owes rent up to the end of the rental period. So, as my response detailed. Since it is now less than 15 days prior to 7/12. There is no way he can give written notice to end his tenancy on 7/12. Therefore it cannot end prior to 8/12. Un less the OP finds another tenant to move in before then.

Thanks for the quick response.
So is the rental period determined by when the rent is due are when the person moved in?

Also, I didn't require a deposit(like I said, very amateurish). Does the 15 Day notice have to be given 15 days before the rental period ends or could I give it, say, by 7/12/12 and have him out 15 days after the 12th?

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Not quite. He owes rent up to the the end of the rental period. So, as my response detailed. Since it is now less than 15 days prior to 7/12. there is no way he can give written notice to end his tenancy on 7/12. Therefore it cannot end prior to 8/12. Un less the OP finds another tenant to move in before then.

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I stand corrected... not sure what I was thinking when I wrote that response. Scott is definitely correct.

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Originally Posted by nmh881

Thanks for the quick response.
So is the rental period determined by when the rent is due are when the person moved in?

Also, I didn't require a deposit(like I said, very amateurish). Does the 15 Day notice have to be given 15 days before the rental period ends or could I give it, say, by 7/12/12 and have him out 15 days after the 12th?

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In the absence of a written lease stating the rental period then it would go by when rent is due.

The notice needs to be given AT LEAST 15 days prior to the end of the rental period to take effect at the end of the rental period. So you could give written notice tomorrow, it would still take effect 8/12. But, as I said its works both ways. So he is stuck for the rent until 8/12. That doesn't mean he can't vacate earlier, it just means he can be held responsible for the rental until that time.

Now I suggest you contact a local landlord's association. They can help you with designing a lease, how to get references, securing deposits etc. so you don't get burnt like this in the future. Not getting a deposit was foolish, not getting a signed lease was foolish.

Well two things:
1. I don't have money to take him to court, so if he does skip(which he most likely will) he can basically skip with no repercussions.
2. I could serve him the 3 day on the 12th if he hasn't paid rent, correct? How does that process work?

Do you expect him to skip or not?

If he does skip, then what is the purpose of serving him a vacate notice? If you don't expect to pursue him for what he owes, then you want him to acknowledge that he is vacating so you can rent again ASAP.

Going after him would mean small claims court so it wouldn't be a huge expense.

A 3 day is a pay or quit notice. The tenant is given 3 days to pay in full or vacate. If they don't do either, then the landlord files in housing court for an eviction. This involves a filing fee and a court hearing. At the hearing the court issues an eviction order. The tenant either vacates then or the landlord hires (another expense) a sheriff to physically remove the tenant.

Ok. I guess I'll just be letting him know this is his last month here in the written notice. Next time I will definitely be smarter about this. Thanks for all your help.

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Originally Posted by nmh881

Ok. I guess I'll just be letting him know this is his last month here in the written notice. Next time I will definitely be smarter about this. Thanks for all your help.

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Note, that if he refuses to leave, you will have to go to court to evict him.