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-   -   Tenant Refuses to Vacate/Tenant At Will (Georgia) (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=776649)

  • Nov 26, 2013, 01:30 AM
    sohighmusicLLC
    Tenant Refuses to Vacate/Tenant At Will (Georgia)
    The Situation, tenants now submits a lease to their lawyer signed by both parties. The problem is, the lease they are trying to ponder is not the lease I am recognising. Tenants were informed they would be submitted a revised lease once all payments had been made to day, including late fees. Their November's rent was paid 16 days late minus the late fees, so I gave them a 7-day notice to pay or vacate or I would file a Writ of Possession on today. Moreover, these tenants provided misleading and unverifyable info on their rental application. One of the parties refuses to provide background info on the application. They are rude, indignant and outright lied on my handyman by implying he tried to enter the home to make repairs without notice and endangered their mentally-challenged child by letting her out of the house. All of these allegations are false. But I see the horrors of these tenants already and I simply want them out, if they pay or not.

    Today their 7 days was up to pay or Quit! And tenants did not pay their late fees. But I did not file the Writ today because their lawyer told me today that he would likely argue that the lease they now have stands OR there is NO lease and I have no basis to demand 7 days to vacate for failure to pay since there's no written agreement that outlines late fees if I continue to stand on these people are Tenants At Will.

    In Georgia Can I still file a Writ of Possession on anything other than failure to pay rent without having to provide a 30-day written notice? Can Landlords file Writs of Possession simply because you do not like the tenants, you want them out, or give no reason at all?

    Thank for you guys' previous replies and any follow-up responses! I will certainly post reply Helpful and anything else I can!
  • Nov 26, 2013, 05:36 AM
    LisaB4657
    If the lease you have now states that late fees are required then you can file a lawsuit for eviction for non-payment of the late fees. HOWEVER, I have never seen a judge willing to evict a tenant for non-payment of late fees if all regular rent had been paid.

    As for the lease situation, you have to reach an agreement with the tenant on whether the current lease still stands. If the lease stands then you cannot give them a 30 day notice and file for eviction unless they violate the terms of the lease in some way. If the lease does not stand and there is no lease then you can immediately give them a 30 day notice to terminate their tenancy.

    If you really want these people gone then I suggest you reach an agreement IN WRITING with their attorney that the lease is not effective and there is currently no lease. Then you can terminate their tenancy.
  • Nov 26, 2013, 08:14 AM
    ScottGem
    First, their attorney is going to tell you whatever he thinks will intimidate you. So I would take anything he says with a grain of salt. It sounds very much like these people are experienced with playing the system and getting free rent.

    My question here is on this lease. You say the lease is signed by both parties, yet you don't recognize it? Does it, in fact, have your signature on it?

    When did they move in? Don't you have a copy of the lease signed by both parties?

    I tend to agree with Lisa, that, if the only thing they owe is late fees, a judge won't grant a Writ of Possession.

    So the way I see it you have a couple of options. You can go ahead with filing for the write and then arguing in court that they have falsified the lease they claim is the valid one. You can use the other issues to show they are not ideal tenants. This may or ma not antagonize the judge.

    Or you can wait until they are late again, give them a new 7 day notice and this time refuse to accept rental on the grounds of chronic lateness. Again this may or may not fly in court.

    Or you can try to declare all leases invalid and the tenant being a periodic one and give them a 30 day notice.

    I really think you should have your own attorney on this.

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