tenant gets lease by false pretences

[landlady333]

What is the name of your state? FL
Last week I signed a one-year lease with a tenant, taking her [oral] word that she was responsible, honest, and clean and that her cats were well-trained and never sprayed. Two days later I was given positive proof that she was none of the above, nor were her cats. Can I break the lease on the grounds that she got it through false pretences? Or am I stuck with her? (She does have a good job and did pay first & last month’s rent and security fee.)

 

[BelizeBreeze]

What is the name of your state? FL
Last week I signed a one-year lease with a tenant, taking her [oral] word that she was responsible, honest, and clean and that her cats were well-trained and never sprayed. Two days later I was given positive proof that she was none of the above, nor were her cats. Can I break the lease on the grounds that she got it through false pretences? Or am I stuck with her? (She does have a good job and did pay first & last month’s rent and security fee.)

Stuck unless she doesn't pay her rent then you can evict her

 

[JETX]

Can I break the lease on the grounds that she got it through false pretences?

Just curious... what did her former landlord say when you called him for a reference?? Or her bank?? Or her employer?? Or her references??

 

[panther10758]

Outside of cats not being as clean as tenant claims what has tenant done? You rposts tells us very little. Far as cats go if they are that dirty you can keep a portion of deposit as result of cleanning you will need to do to make Apartment ready for new tenant. Other than that you need to be more specific as to what tenant has done that breaches lease!

 

[treese]

Of course, the tenant was going to say the she is responsible, honest, clean and her cats were wll trained and never sprayed ... she wanted to rent your property. Never take a tenant's word - lesson learned.

You are stuck with her unless she fails to pay the rent or breaches the lease in some other way.

 

[nextwife]

Just curious... what did her former landlord say when you called him for a reference?? Or her bank?? Or her employer?? Or her references??

The LL's I know find they get even MORE accurate feedback from the LL BEFORE the present LL. Soemtimes the current LL wants them gone so bad they withhold info - but their PREVIOUS LL has gets no benefit from fudging. So, beyond calling the current LL, it's even MORE informative to call the LL before them.

Poster- NEVER take a tenants word for anything. If you want to be in the LL business- do your homework. Run a credit check, verify employment (or funding source) and call the last TWO LLs.

 

[landlady333]

learned my lesson

Thank you all for your input! My face is red. I should have checked further. But my tenant was such a great talker and had a great story. Her employer and references said she was okay. She said a hurricane had destroyed her next-to-last residence and the LL was no longer around. Her previous LL was traveling and was not available.

As for more details, I was trying to be concise. She told us she was an "immaculate" housekeeper. Her previous LL finally returned my calls and told me he is more than willing to write a letter of testimony telling how she left his small apartment unbelievable filthy. He had to remove 3 trailer-loads of trash and can’t get the horrible smell out. The renter caused extensive damage by clogging the toilet and allowing the air conditioner to get clogged with hair. Cat feces were on the floor, the four corners of the apartment are oozing urine, he will have to remove the base boards, etc.

All she gave me as a security deposit was $200. I can't use the last month's rent to cover the repairs, can I?

Furthermore we have noticed that she seems to be very accident prone, and we are afraid she may find some reason to sue us or the association where her townhouse is located.

It's very scary. I was scammed and I should have known better.

 

[treese]

You learned a valuable lesson.

But my tenant was such a great talker and had a great story.

Red flag #1: Tenants that are "great talkers" with "great stories".

All you really need to know are facts from sources other than the tenant themselves ... LL references, credit report, eviction check, criminal check, etc.

She said a hurricane had destroyed her next-to-last residence and the LL was no longer around. Her previous LL was traveling and was not available.

Red flag #2: Tenants that claim former LL's are not available.

Regardless of the tenant's claims, insist on the LL's name and the property address. No references that you can contact = automatic disqulification for the applicant.

You may be able to find contact info (telephone #, home address) on the former LL through web searches or public record searches.

Her previous LL finally returned my calls and told me he is more than willing to write a letter of testimony telling how she left his small apartment unbelievable filthy. He had to remove 3 trailer-loads of trash and can’t get the horrible smell out. The renter caused extensive damage by clogging the toilet and allowing the air conditioner to get clogged with hair. Cat feces were on the floor, the four corners of the apartment are oozing urine, he will have to remove the base boards, etc.

Unfortunately for you, this info came too late.

All she gave me as a security deposit was $200. I can't use the last month's rent to cover the repairs, can I?

Is $200 all that you required? If so, you need to rethink that amount for next time ... it will not cover much damage. A tenant will figure that $200 is chump change to lose and will have little to no incentive to take care of your property.

No, the last month's rent is just that.

Furthermore we have noticed that she seems to be very accident prone, and we are afraid she may find some reason to sue us or the association where her townhouse is located.

Had one of those years ago ... I could not wait for them to get out of my property. The guy had various worker's comp and personal injury cases going simultaniously.
S-C-A-R-Y!!

I was scammed and I should have known better.

Now you know. Good luck in the future

 

[Cvillecpm]

Tenant gets lease by false pretences

You need an attorney who knows FL L-T law NOW....your tenant is a PRO and the money you spend for an attorney will be well worth it to get her out of your property.

Hire a professional property manager to manage your property.

TRUST but VERIFY