Landlord Question and Answer Forum

My tenant moved out without any notice mid-lease, shut off all of the utilities, and sent me a letter in response to an eviction notice claiming not to be able to afford the rent and that he was breaking the lease. Yet he has continued to pay rent the last week of the month for the last three months, depositing it in my account. He refuses to answer phone calls, texts or emails, and came in the middle of the night to collect his personal items from the curb after I placed it there and changed the locks. My question is this: how does his continued rent payments affect me? Thanks in advance, Chris in S.C.

So your tenant did break the lease and did move out and collect all belongings, and is still paying rent. The best thing to do is start fixing the place for a new tenant. Then file for an official eviction with a final move out date. This way you can get new tenants in with no issue. Legally the tenant does need to pay if they broke contract until you find a new tenant.

Posted by Susan P, CA on Tuesday, October 27, 2015