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Karlly1 · Jul 17, 2007, 03:19 PM

We recently agreed to rent a house to some people. We signed the lease agreement, but the renters weren't given the lease or a copy because they haven't paid the first month's rent yet. Can we evict them without notice? They have been there for two weeks and have paid nothing, not to mention they are using our electric. They told me today they were leaving and weren't paying anything and said there is nothing we can do about it because it will take 30 days to evict them and they'll be gone by then to another state. We live in Kentucky.

tickle · Jul 17, 2007, 03:53 PM

You absolutely do not do let any one until moneyhas changed hands, (security deposit, first and last)a credit check is done and you are satisfied these are people you want in your house. I guess they are right to certain extent, but get the process going now so you can get them out of their before they do damage to your property.

tickle · Jul 17, 2007, 06:03 PM

In some communities, landlords must put an official eviction notice on the property a certain number of days before the tenant can be forced off the property. In other communities, the landlord must get the police to post the notice or the landlord must obtain a court order before the tenant can be evicted. Usually, the notice can be served by delivering it to any adult tenant of the property. It is important to know which rules apply to your situation. Contact a local Landlord/Tenant Advisory Board or a lawyer if you are unsure of your obligations.

bushg · Jul 17, 2007, 06:08 PM

# 1 turn off the electric and water they will leave. Also I would call the police if they do not have a copy of the lease they may make them leave.

excon · Jul 17, 2007, 06:21 PM

Hello K:

They're tenants, and must be evicted according to your state landlord tenant law. That doesn't help you. However, if you do anything short of that, you can be sued for unlawful eviction. You might even be prosecuted for trespassing. Lots of bad things happen when you open yourself up this kind of stuff.

excon

PS> Rent the movie Pacific Heights, and count yourself lucky.

ballengerb1 · Jul 17, 2007, 07:04 PM

Do not turn of the electric, you'd be breaking the law. You have been scammed and you probably have to take your lumps because they were correct about the 30 day eviction. So sorry.

bushg · Jul 17, 2007, 07:40 PM

1. Most landlords do not provide electric and water for homes. Since this is a single family home I would turn off both. Unless the lease stated that I am responsible to pay those 2 items. It would be shut off ASAP.

chefcher59 · Jul 17, 2007, 08:12 PM

2 of these people are 100 percent correct YOU CANNOT TURN OFF THE UTILITIES AND YOU CANNOT THROW THEM OUT ON THE STREET- go to the local courthouse and start evections right away get a 3 day to pay rent or QUIT form- directions are on the forms. ALso you can try on-line forms through your state. I think you said Kentucky- try www.kuntuckylegal forms.com or something like that... Believe me I have 2 rentals same thing happened to me- we lost over $5000 on this idiot who wrecked our house and refused to pay.. SORRY! It took 3 months to evict her because she had 2 kids... harder to evict dummies w/children. (nothing against kids love them but that's the facts). You may be able to get the utilities put into their name and then they are responsible for the bills!

AKaeTrue · Jul 17, 2007, 10:22 PM

Because landlord/tenant laws vary from state to state, county to county, city limits vs. outside city limits,
For you to find out the correct information about your situation,
Please visit the county courthouse in which the rental property is located in.

They will be able to assist you with the eviction process and inform you
On all the legal actions you as the home owner can make such as turning off
Utilities and such.

My husband and I have several rental properties.
Removing a tenet in all of our areas require an eviction with time spans ranging from 2 weeks to 3 month depending on the reason for the eviction.

All the areas that our rental properties are located in allow for us to shut off utilities after 1 week if the tenet has not transferred the service into their name because it is not included as part of the rent on the lease or rental agreement.

So, as you can see, many different laws for the many different places.

Usually the scam artists know the laws and what they can get away with, so it probably is 30 days, but that's only after you start the eviction process.

I'm very sorry this has happened to you.
It has happened to my husband and I as well.
We have learned a lot from our mistakes
And owning rental properties is a lot easier for us these days.

Hope the same goes for you after this dilemma is over.
Best wishes.

Ken 297 · Jul 18, 2007, 05:17 AM

Whatever you do start the evction process immediately. I had to evict a tenant and the time was 6 weeks from the start of the proceedings until the sherrif actually escorted them off the property.
By saying they are moving out they may be trying to delay you in starting the eviction process. If these people got in without paying a cent they know what they are doing.
Don't play their game, professional rental scammer know the laws better then the lawyers.
BTW... don't shut of the electricity or water or you may be paying them expenses. They will have a sob story all worked our to tell the judge about how the check was in their car when it got stolen while doing charity work at a food bank... they will get a settlement from you and you will have to start from scratch to get them evicted.

I agree with Karma. Go rent Pacifac Heights. I watched it the day after I rented a place to a guy that looked like Michael Keaton. Didn't sleep for a week.

Good luck with the process.

ScottGem · Jul 18, 2007, 05:52 AM

You have gotten conflicting advice on turning off utilities. Maybe I can make this clearer. If you are responsible for paying the utilities or this is a multi-unit building without separate meters you cannot shut off the utilities. You cannot do anything that will make the premises uninhabitable. That would just open you up to a law suit.

However, if there is a separate meter and the lease specifies that the tenant is responsible for transferring the utilities into their name so they would be billed, you can inform the utility that the account should be transferred and that you are no longer responsible. This may result in the utilitiy being turned off, but that would then be the utility's action not yours.

As you were told, since they signed a lease (even if they don't have a copy) and you allowed them to move in (you already know how huge a mistake that was) they are tenants and you cannot evict them without going through the process. So start the process immediately.

I would also check with your local police. From what you have said, its very likely they have pulled this before and there may be warrants out for their arrest.

ballengerb1 · Jul 18, 2007, 07:33 AM

As usual, I agree with Scott and trust his advice. There is but one point that I'm not 100% sure. My utility company will not allow me, the LL, to transfer the utilies to a new party. The new party, tenant, must make those arrangements and assume liabilty. This pretty much takes away my ability to legally kill the power. I'm sure laws vary from place to place but I seriously doubt some of the advice given in earlier posts. I'd challenge some to show us evidence that you are allowed, by law, to shut off utilites after one week. I think those people may have done that with no ill effect but that doesn't mean it is legal.

ScottGem · Jul 18, 2007, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by ballengerb1

As usual, I agree with Scott and trust his advice. There is but one point that I'm not 100% sure. My utility company will not allow me, the LL, to transfer the utilies to a new party. The new party, tenant, must make those arrangements and assume liabilty. This pretty much takes away my ability to legally kill the power. I'm sure laws vary from place to place but I seriously doubt some of the advice given in earlier posts. I'd challenge some to show us evidence that you are allowed, by law, to shut off utilites after one week. I think those people may have done that with no ill effect but that doesn't mean it is legal.

I, in turn, totally agree with what ballengerb1 says here. I was very careful in wording my answer here. I specifically said INFORM the utility about the transfer and that the utility MAY turn off the service. I suspect that most utilities require the new tenant to initiate the transfer.

But the bottomline here is that the landlord cannot, legally, do anything to make the premises uninhabitable.

shtpmom · Jul 18, 2007, 10:50 AM

Start the eviction process NOW do not wait! I first filed to have tenant removed on June 4 tenant had it moved to a higher court.. now the court day is not until October so start the eviction now.. hopefully for your sake the tenant is not smart enough to realize they have a right to have it moved to a higher court then you can possibly have them out in no time.

Karlly1 · Jul 18, 2007, 02:24 PM

Okay, this is where we are at at this point in time. I went to the house this morning after giving them notice yesterday that I would be inspecting the property. I let them know that if they are not out by this weekend, pay half the month's rent, leave the house clean, and no damage, then we will not pursue a Breach of Contract suit and sue them for the amount of the lease.

Apparently, the grown son had not bothered to pass on this message I had left with him before to his mother. I then went to the courthouse and meanwhile, the tenants called several times and finally left two voice mails stating they would get out by this weekend. They are still trying to get out of paying, but we can go to court.

Here in KY, a civil suit award is only up to $4K-and we have to represent ourself, present our own evidence and collect our own judgments; a small claims court suit is up to $1500 and only if the tenants live in our state.

We have to give a written 30-day eviction notice before the Eviction Court will even hear the case. Since they might leave on their own and pay half the rent, I am waiting to see what happens.

Oh, and I had the electricity cut off since it was in our name and we weren't obligated to provide it. They are not happy. I should point out that the mother still has a house rented until July 31 in this same town and so does her grown son. They can move back to those houses and leave mine alone!

The woman accused me of just about everything, especially insensitivity and said she fully intended to "settle up" on the rent and electricity with me before she left. HAH!! I'll believe it when I have the money in my hand.

Karlly1 · Jul 18, 2007, 02:30 PM

On the same subject--leases--I spoke to a lady who has a rental house and she told me she requires a work address and number, the last three residences and phone numbers, and she also asks for photo copy of drivers license and soc security, although tenants are not required by law to provide the last two. She said she had a woman contact her about renting and when she called one of the last residences listed that the owner stated the tenant still had five year lease with her! Needless to say, this woman didn't rent her the house.

ScottGem · Jul 18, 2007, 03:57 PM

Yes, you should always get references form previous landlords and names of relatives in case you need to go after a bad tenant. I am concerned about you cutting off the electricity. On the face of it, it appears you were within your rights, but any time you do something not court approved to try and force tenants out, you put yourself at risk.

You should NOT wait to start the eviction process. You can always stop it, but if you delay, it just means a longer time to get them out.

ReneeK · Jul 18, 2007, 07:09 PM

Originally Posted by bushg

# 1 turn off the electric and water they will leave. Also I would call the police if they do not have a copy of the lease they may make them leave.

It is my understanding that you can't turn off the electricity or the water before you evict them. This is called a constructive eviction, and is VERY illegal

michealb · Jul 18, 2007, 07:34 PM

Make sure you figure out how much they owe you and get as much information on them as possible so when you go to court you can put the judgement on their credit. So if they ever decide to use their credit again your name will be there for the next landlord so they never get rented to again.

Karlly1 · Jul 18, 2007, 08:09 PM

More news... the son just got out of jail a few days ago. The mother has been in jail too for fraud. I'm waiting to get a full report on the both of them now. That may be why they decided to move out instead of risking me taking them to court. He has a long rap sheet and I'm not sure what she's got on her. More later...