Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Hi -- quick question. I'm in North Carolina and had a renter move out last December. They entered into a contract with a Mosquito spraying company while they were in the unit. They vacated prematurely and apparently forgot to cancel the service. The new tenant received a bill from the company and promptly forwarded to me. I contacted the service and explained the situation. The inidicated they would need to contact the "office manager" to see what needed to be done leading me to believe they may want to try and collect from me. The tenant who entered the contract is now in Thailand. The question is -- from a legal standpoint -- am I, as the landlord, on the hook for any upaid monies on a contract entered into by my tenant for work done on my property? If someone can help me find any case law that addresses this in NC I would be extremely grateful.

Any repairs to the property are normally the landlords responsibilities. You may be held responsible however if there was a signed contract making the previous tenant the initiator and responsible persons for the money it would be up to the company to collect from the tenant. They should have collected payment information from the tent when setting up the contractual agreement and it should have only been set for the time of tenancy not for the property itself.

Posted by Derrick D, PA on Tuesday, September 16, 2014