Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I am a landlord in Arkansas. I rented a house 6 mo. ago and the past 4 mo. the tenant has paid rent but is not living in the home. When we rented the home there was just a verbal agreement. There were many repairs that needed to be made. Last week my husband started making them, and there are more than was expected. The tenant paid less than half of the rent and told us that because of the condition of the house she didn't feel like she had to pay anymore. All of her belongings are still in the house. And she let us know she had no intentions of moving. My questions are: 1. Because she has no intentions of moving, is she still responsible for her rent? 2. She has disconnected a 500 gal propane tank and hooked a 50 gal up. Is she responsible for the cost of reconnecting the original tank? THIS WOULD INCLUDE PLUMBING CHARGES 3. After remolding is finished can tenant be made to sign a month to month renters agreement? Thanks for your input and suggestions

If a tenant isnt paying rent, its a breach of the lease. Your rental prop is not a storage facility. The first step would be getting a good lease in place, or evicting the tenant if thats not possible. Its hard to have someone be liable when there is no lease.

Posted by karen s, WI on Friday, January 25, 2013

(1) As long as they are paying the rent, it doesn’t matter how many days of the month they are actually there. (2) Send a Notice to Pay or Quit and if rent is not paid per Notice, start an eviction. (3) If tenant pays, tell tenant that they will have to sign a lease agreement. If tenant refuses, send a Notice to Vacate. Check your State law for dates. (4) A tenant must return property in the condition it was received. Therefore, you can charge tenant to reconnect tank. In fact, you can state in the agreement that tenant can not make such changes. -----Disclaimer: Since I’ve been answering a lot of questions, I thought I would make the following statement. I’m not affiliated with EZlandlord Forms. I’m just here (not sure how long) to help those that have questions. Having 40+ yrs with Rental Property and done well, it’s my way of “Pay it Forward (check out the movie).” However, it is up to you to become familiar with Fed/State/Local and Tax Laws. I always like to know if the suggestions I offer are helpful. Feel free to comment anytime. Thanks in Advance. BTW...check out the Rental Property Organizer at Simp-List.com. Free Trial Download with data. Check out the new $$$$ for 2012

Posted by Bob R, CA on Friday, January 25, 2013

You should screen the tenant before renting out your home. I have also rented my apartment since last six months. Hunter Rentals & Property Management provided a very good rental and property management service to me. I did not have any issues with my tenant.

Posted by liza r, TX on Tuesday, March 19, 2013