End of Lease Issue

[LynnSmith]

Ok please bare with me and all advice is appreciated. My tenants have been the worst and i'm wondering how to proceed.

Backstory: Couple has been living in one of my 3-bedrooms in a 4-plex since December. They signed a 6-month lease, ending on May 31st 2021. On February 3rd, the gentleman texted me saying he was giving me 30-day notice to vacate because he had orders to re-locate to Texas (military). I thanked him and reminded him of the expectation to provide a copy of his official orders, so that he was not penalized for breaking the lease early. I also clarified with him at that point that they'd be out on or by March 5th and he said he would be.

Fast forward to the 5th, (friday) which was their 30-days, a call was made to address them still being their and to ask when they'd be out and if he had a copy of his orders (because he still hadn't provided this information) He hung up after being rude and said he "didn't have to provide us with ANYTHING". He was threatening in nature and ultimately said they didn't know when they'd be out. Then they texted me a bunch of rude text messages about "blindsiding" them.

I followed up by saying that I needed an exact move-out date from them, as I'd already had someone lined up to rent he apartment (which I did) and that I'd now need to let them know they couldn't move in. I sent a nice, professional and thorough email to both of them addressing this need and demanding a response from them. They responded by email saying they didn't have an exact date because "that's not how the military works" and we "must not know anything" etc.

I sent a response saying that there must be a misunderstanding on their end because I needed an exact date of their move-out, not just a response from them saying "I don't know when we'll be out". I also said that if I couldn't get an established move-out date from them, then March 31st would serve as their last day and they'd need to be out by then. (Which for the record I think is still nice of us considering their attitude and the fact that they'd already said they'd be out by march 5th and weren't. I gave them until tomorrow evening at 5pm to respond to me with an EXACT move-out date.

Anyways...I'm pretty sure they're not going to have a date for me. SO I reviewed the sample documents in the Alaska Landlord Tenant act to see what kind of eviction notice i'd give them and when.

Here's my questions:

Would you serve an eviction notice to them on Tuesday morning (March 9th) saying that they have until the 31st to be out? If so, where is a good form for this, because the ones in the AK Landlord tenant act, says they have 10-days which isn't what I want, since I already stupidly gave them until the end of the month.

OR would you wait until April 1st to do anything further, and then on that morning if they're still there, THEN give them an eviction notice? IF this option, how much longer would you give them to be OUT??

What other advice do you have? I'll see if I can add some pictures of our interactions in the comment section in case any of that is helpful.

Thanks so much guys!

[BBFult]

Do you have anything in writing from them stating that they would be out by the 5th? If so, I’d start with a 10 day notice to quit and then begin eviction proceedings. But I’m sure there are others on here who are better versed in this than I am.

[LynnSmith]

Just now, BBFult said:

Do you have anything in writing from them stating that they would be out by the 5th? If so, I’d start with a 10 day notice to quit and then begin eviction proceedings. But I’m sure there are others on here who are better versed in this than I am.

So 10-days to be out starting now? I believe* I may have said somewhere that they'd have until March 31st (because they already paid march rent) IF they couldn't give me another date. However, they've continued to be rude in our exchanges and now I'm just over. I don't necessarily want to go back on my word though and now give them an eviction notice with less time to be out than I originally said (which was the 31st), because if it goes to court, I don't think a judge would like to see that I "changed my mind" and gave them less time.

[Chris Bend]

At this point, 31 May is pretty close. I’d simply ignore the previous letter from them and continue to expect rent. Rack up late fees if necessary. Since they never provided proof of either PCS or deployment, they’re still liable until they move out AND you’ve re-rented the unit, up until the end of their lease — whichever comes first.

Don’t play their game or get upset. Just let this play out and then keep their deposit to cover the accrued costs.

[LynnSmith]

3 minutes ago, LynnSmith said:

Ok please bare with me and all advice is appreciated. My tenants have been the worst and i'm wondering how to proceed.

Backstory: Couple has been living in one of my 3-bedrooms in a 4-plex since December. They signed a 6-month lease, ending on May 31st 2021. On February 3rd, the gentleman texted me saying he was giving me 30-day notice to vacate because he had orders to re-locate to Texas (military). I thanked him and reminded him of the expectation to provide a copy of his official orders, so that he was not penalized for breaking the lease early. I also clarified with him at that point that they'd be out on or by March 5th and he said he would be.

Fast forward to the 5th, (friday) which was their 30-days, a call was made to address them still being their and to ask when they'd be out and if he had a copy of his orders (because he still hadn't provided this information) He hung up after being rude and said he "didn't have to provide us with ANYTHING". He was threatening in nature and ultimately said they didn't know when they'd be out. Then they texted me a bunch of rude text messages about "blindsiding" them.

I followed up by saying that I needed an exact move-out date from them, as I'd already had someone lined up to rent he apartment (which I did) and that I'd now need to let them know they couldn't move in. I sent a nice, professional and thorough email to both of them addressing this need and demanding a response from them. They responded by email saying they didn't have an exact date because "that's not how the military works" and we "must not know anything" etc.

I sent a response saying that there must be a misunderstanding on their end because I needed an exact date of their move-out, not just a response from them saying "I don't know when we'll be out". I also said that if I couldn't get an established move-out date from them, then March 31st would serve as their last day and they'd need to be out by then. (Which for the record I think is still nice of us considering their attitude and the fact that they'd already said they'd be out by march 5th and weren't. I gave them until tomorrow evening at 5pm to respond to me with an EXACT move-out date.

Anyways...I'm pretty sure they're not going to have a date for me. SO I reviewed the sample documents in the Alaska Landlord Tenant act to see what kind of eviction notice i'd give them and when.

Here's my questions:

Would you serve an eviction notice to them on Tuesday morning (March 9th) saying that they have until the 31st to be out? If so, where is a good form for this, because the ones in the AK Landlord tenant act, says they have 10-days which isn't what I want, since I already stupidly gave them until the end of the month.

OR would you wait until April 1st to do anything further, and then on that morning if they're still there, THEN give them an eviction notice? IF this option, how much longer would you give them to be OUT??

What other advice do you have? I'll see if I can add some pictures of our interactions in the comment section in case any of that is helpful.

Thanks so much guys!

 

This is the first E-mail I sent them after they sent a bunch of rude texts to me.

"Thank you for informing me of the exchange that took place between you and my Property Manager. I have given her a call to discuss the details of the conversation that she was instructed to have with you regarding the move-out process, as Aren and I are increasingly busy this time of year and wanted her to take over more of the day to day duties. Regardless, please know that property managers are often involved in the management of properties everywhere, even small locally owned properties, like ours and that this interaction was not meant to “blindside” either of you. Luckily, you were able to meet her when we originally showed the apartment.

Per our lease agreement, we allow for any active military member to move out, with a 30-day notice to vacate, via written notice, upon receiving orders. Also per the lease agreement, a copy of the orders are to be provided to the Landlord (or a person acting on their behalf, such as a Property Manager). It is also explicitly written in the lease agreement, that text messages serve as proper written communication, from either party. On February 3rd at 8:12am, you gave us exactly 30-days notice that you would be gone on March 5th. You said that you received orders to be reassigned to Texas, and that the last day you would be in Alaska was March 5th. I communicated to you that a full month’s worth of rent would be due on March 1st however, that the remaining amount incurred after your move-out, would be prorated back to you. I then further clarified with you that March 5th would be your move-out date and you responded that it would be. I also communicated to you that we would need a copy of your orders.

I have received no communication or contact from either of you, indicating that you would need longer than the 5th of March, whatever the reason. As is our normal process, once we received your written notice, we began the proceedings for screening for new applicants. This process is extensive and time consuming therefore, this is a task we delegate to our PM. Upon her checking in with us, regarding interest from others in renting the apartment, I informed her that I was in the middle of working, but that she should reach out to you to find out if you were still present in the apartment or not so that the move-out inspection could be done to get you your deposit back asap. She reported that your communication with her was threatening in nature. You had originally mentioned to me that you had already received orders to be reassigned out of Alaska however, the Property Manager stated that you mentioned having just gotten the orders this week. You texted her that you “do not have to provide ANYTHING” and I wanted to clarify that you’re correct, there is no obligation to provide us with a copy of your orders, so long as you understand that early lease cancellation without this proof, does not necessarily obligate us to return your security deposit. I assumed you would want it therefore, I told her to ask you for it. You also stated that you had not previously given me a date, which is untrue. I’m unsure for the reasoning behind these inconsistencies. Additionally, the incomplete screenshot of order paperwork without your identifying information on it, would not have been acceptable.


 It appears as though you are under the impression that without communicating otherwise, or sharing your intentions with us directly, you can stay until an undetermined amount of time, simply because you’ve paid rent for March. Unfortunately, this is not how it works. We now have the dreaded burden of informing this other family that the unit will not be available to them on the agreed upon date after all. Lease agreements are made to protect both the tenant and the Landlord and this is an example of a situation where poor planning creates a ripple effect.

I understand that you told the PM that you did not have an exact move-out date at this time. This is not an option. Without knowing when the unit will be available, we cannot plan ahead and have it rented in a reasonable amount of time after you vacate. This is the reason that we request a 30-day notice. I will need an exact move-out date from you by 5pm tomorrow evening. If you have changed your mind about moving, or your orders are for a later date than anticipated, please communicate this with me or my PM. The problem lies with assuming that you can just leave whenever and not abide by an agreed upon date, as this complicates things for us in a big way, as we try to re-rent the apartment. Per the Alaska Landlord & Tenant act “When a landlord accepts a moving notice, but a tenant fails to move out by the date specified, the landlord may sue for eviction. If the tenant stays beyond the specified move-out date willfully and not in good faith, the landlord may also sue for 1.5 times actual damages”. Please know that while evictions are not fun for tenants, they’re not fun for landlords either and that is a not necessarily a path that we wish to take. We are simply asking for respectful communication from you regarding your intention to move-out, so that we can properly plan.

Your lease was only written for 6 months if you remember. If you believe that you will stay through the duration of the original lease (May 31st), we will accept a revocation of your notice, in writing. However, if you know that you will be moving out sooner than that, we need an exact date and I will need the unit completely empty and clean by 5pm on the evening of the given date. As a recap, here are the choices:

1) Provide us with an exact date that you will be completely moved-out out between now and May 31st. Please provide this information to us by tomorrow evening at 5pm. With a proper copy of your orders, you will not be penalized for early lease termination.

2) If you believe you would like to stay until the end of the current lease, please provide a revocation of your notice to vacate (know that this is not something that every landlord would offer. We are doing this because we do not want you to feel as though you HAVE to go, if something has changed about your situation).

Thank you,

 

 

After I emailed this, they said this: "Can’t give a move out date until tomorrow or Tuesday at the earliest. I’ve been trying to schedule movers to come pick up my stuff so I can leave Alaska and never come back but it’s a tedious process ... as soon as they pick up my stuff I can leave that same day if need be"

 

 

After I emailed this, they said this: "Can’t give a move out date until tomorrow or Tuesday at the earliest. I’ve been trying to schedule movers to come pick up my stuff so I can leave Alaska and never come back but it’s a tedious process ... as soon as they pick up my stuff I can leave that same day if need be"

 

THEY HAVE SO MUCH AUDACITY. LOL

[SLopez]

If all fails contact his sergeant, they dont like that

 

[KarlaH]

Contact his chain of command. You will get it situated in a timely manner.

 

[LynnSmith]

1 minute ago, SLopez said:

If all fails contact his sergeant, they dont like that

 

I plan to regardless of how this pans out. He was super rude to myself and my PM. And his wife continues to be rude via text and email.

[SLopez]

Just now, LynnSmith said:

I plan to regardless of how this pans out. He was super rude to myself and my PM. And his wife continues to be rude via text and email.

he is a disgrace for the service

[Chris Bend]

Just now, SLopez said:

he is a disgrace for the service

we tried to contact our previous tenants military supervisor and was told they no longer deal with civil stuff