tenant has not paid rent

[scttmill]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mass
i have not gotten my rent from my tenant he has not been at the home for over 2 weeks and no phone calls but all of her belongings are in the apt what can i do where i have no way to contact him at all

 

[justalayman]

Is the rent past due?

Is your tenant the type of person that might have ended up in jail?

Have you visited the dwelling to be sure all is well?

 

[FarmerJ]

You do have a way to contact the tenant , the address they rent from you , use it and begin your states process to evict for non payment , if they want to stay on they will follow thru and pay all they owe inc your court cost and not permit this to happen again or they wont and you will in the very end legally have re taken control of the unit once you have the courts blessing. next time around consider getting last months rent as well as first & dep if your state hasnt barred LLs from doing so this way when it comes to evicting it reduces your loss a little bit.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Mass
i have not gotten my rent from my tenant he has not been at the home for over 2 weeks and no phone calls but all of her belongings are in the apt what can i do where i have no way to contact him at all

Unless someone is watching the place 24/7, there is no way to guarantee that the tenant hasn't been in the home. When they can't pay the rent, it is very common for them to make themselves scarce so that that LL cannot come to them and demand the rent from them.

First and foremost, serve your tenant with a 14-day Notice to Quit for nonpayment. POST a copy in a conspicuous place on the property, and also MAIL two copies, one copy via certified mail, return receipt requested, and one via regular mail. The tenant is bound to see one of these notices, and if they have someone watching their house for any reason, that person should be able to notify your tenant that the notice has been given to them.

Your next step will be based upon the tenant's response. They can either pay the full unpaid rent balance due prior to the end of the notice period to preserve their tenancy, or you can then proceed with an eviction through the courts to make it official and seek a court order to have them removed. Until you receive a court order, you MAY NOT change locks, disconnect utilities, or remove any property belonging to the tenant.

 

[Pygmalin]

Just a thought here, but try calling local hospitals to see if they are injured. They will give you room number but not condition. Also, someone else mentioned jail, that is all public information.

 

[FarmerJ]

pointless to call hospitals , if tenant is away some one may be collecting mail , if they arent maybe tenant is playing hide n seek, i had one do that and only came home after midnight then left by 530am to avoid me , didnt change my mind she got notice to get out and didnt on time so i filed for her overstaying, I went to court she did not, then she wondered why LLs declined her apps later on .