Hello,

My tenant who is a tenant by the previous property owner will not pay the last month's rent. She says that the security deposit is the last month's rent. I told her that is the deposit if there are damages to the property. I also believe that the previous owner did not pay the security depost at closing. So I believe I don't ower her the deposit. What will I do if she refuses to pay the last month's rent? She is one of my feisty tenants. I'm actually relieved she is leaving but she's torturing me before she leaves.

Please help!

Was there a rental agreement or contract with the previous property owner?

Don't know where you live. The laws vary from state to state.

You might want to look up rights of tenants rights of landlords in a Google search in the state where the property is.

I live in Los Angeles, California. There is a contract from the previous owner. There's nothing much stated to it but it just say it's a contract between the previous owner and the tenant. I am planning to take her to small claims if she refuses to pay the rent. I am already compromising for her to just pay 2 weeks of rent since she is moving at the second week of April but she prefers not to pay rent because she says she won't get her deposit back from the previous owner.

When a rental property is sold, any security deposits held by the previous owner should be transferred to the new owner. If your attorney did not handle this at closing then you got screwed. Whether the funds were handed over or not doesn't change your obligation under the lease.

You can find links to CA law at the top of this forum. It will spell out what a security depoist is and can be used for. It CAN be used to cover unpaid rent, but that's at the landlord's discretion not the tenants. If she doesn't pay the last month's rent you could withhold the deposit (if you had it) and she would STILL be liable for any damages (IF there were any).

Next I would go to the previous owner and demand the deposits.

Serve her the appropriate pay or quit notice WHILE SHE IS STILL IN YOUR RENTAL UNIT AND YOU KNOW HER ADDRESS...

Yes you take over the rental agreement, so they are bound by the terms and you are bound also.

The security deposit is suppose to be a credit on the closing, so you don't actuallly get handed a check for it, but on the closing statement it would be a credit for you.

So the person you bought the house from is liable to you for the deposit, if they did not pay it to you at closing, you can demand it from them.

But you will owe it to the person who is moving out, minus any unpaid rents and any damage.

So after they move out, you see what damge there is, and then you will know if you have a case against her.

Thanks to all who replied. I called my realtor and she said we did have a credit at closing. So I decide to just not give her the security deposit. I will also see if there are any damages to the property and if there is then she is liable for it. Thanks again for all your help!