Tenant in jail. I want him evicted

[cathdz]

What is the name of your state? Colorado
I have rented a house to a man who is now in jail for child abuse and is a registered sex offender. I want him out of the rental house. I started the eviction process, gave the 3 day notice on Feb 11. He paid the rent, I have no idea how from jail, on Feb 14. Is that past 3 days? 11, 12, 13? He is a really horrible man and did not disclose the sex offender information to me when renting from me.

 

[zappy]

2 factors that are against you......

First you took the check.....therefore he is a tenant for another month. and you have to start all over again.

You Must NEVER accept the rent.

Second..even though he is in Jail, YOU have a duty to inform the court of that fact...YES because you live in America even a Inmate must have his day in court.

If you dont the inmate can sue you for an illegal lockout damages and of course you have to keep his stuff safe from harm, or you could be sued for its value.

 

[cathdz]

Zappy

thank you Zappy for replying! The rent was due on Feb 4. He, the tenant, makes a payment to my checking acct. I didn't think he could make a payment, since he was in jail. I didn't mean to accept a payment. He also owes $400 for past due propane (heating) and $40 for power bill. What can I do?

 

[cathdz]

Zappy - one more thing!

I have a court date of Feb 24, I have had the tenant served with the paperwork concerning the court date. He will probably be served tomorrow in the jail, the sheriff tells me.

 

[FarmerJ]

Cath according to the lease who is responsible for payment of the utilities ? If he was and has failed to keep tank full do take what ever steps you need to protect plumbing . Have you checked the gauge to calculate how many gallons are left ?

 

[zappy]

then chances are it will be dismissed since the rent was accepted by you.

how does he owe a $40 power bill? or a $400 propane bill?

It is illegal to split the cost of the utilities in most states.

Be prepared to pay him back all his security depsoit, and to keep his posessions safe in a storage locker while you pay for it, and maybe the judge will side with you.

 

[cathdz]

Utilities

the power bill and the propane bill were sent to me, as the owner of the property, because the tenant had not paid the bills. The propane tank is nearly full. It was filled on Jan 29.

How could a judge side with him?

 

[cathdz]

Farmer J and Zappy

We did not have a lease. We had only a verbal agreement that he would pay 850 per month on the 4th of each month, to be deposited directly in my checking acct. I was in a hurry to leave for Oregon, my grandmother was very ill. I am stupid, I know. The verbal agreement was that he would pay the power bill and the propane bills. I left the propane tank full and the power bill at a zero balance. The utilities are not split. They are separate entities.

 

[FarmerJ]

Ok so no lease it will be close call for you but if you have to you If you have to do it all over again you might be able to just evict with letter for last day of march or late march . If you didnt take the light bill out of your name at this point you might not have to bother . If you left a full tank of propane for now go check on house if it appears no one is staying there go turn heat to 50 to conserve gas

 

[cathdz]

Can I post a letter saying I want him out by Mar 4

Since the rent is due on the 4th of each month, can I write him a letter and say I want him out by the 4th of March?

What about the past due propane and power bills? The power bill is in his name. But he did not get the propane bill in his name.

Can I maintain that he has committed waste on the property? There is garbage strewn all about the property. He had 15 to 20 big black plastic trash bags in the breezeway. Animals got in and just tore them all up.

The heat is turned down, but when the power bill is not paid, the power will be turned off and then the propane heat will not work. Here in Colorado, the pipes will freeze soon. Is he neglecting the property to the extent that I can evict for that purpose?

I ran the criminal history check with Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Wish I had done it sooner. He has a long list of crimes. I do not want him around my kids or grandkids and I am sure the neighbors don't.

 

[zappy]

You are in a limbo, thats why you need to go to court and negotiate a settlement with the tenant.

You may have to eat part of the loss in order to have his stuff removed to a storage locker, and be able to rerent it.

Call the power company and see if you can stall any cut off, most places wont cut off the electric in winter, they will just make you pay for it.

At least the rent is paid, so its not that bad.

 

[cathdz]

thank you

just frustrated with the whole thing and the huge propane bill. chalk up another loss and a lesson learned

 

[FarmerJ]

Cath so have you learned when he will have his own court appearance ? When he might get out of jail ? That is public info you know . Since you already have a court date dont confuse things any worse that they are. If a judge says you have done this all wrong and must start over . Then on the 24th do a eviction notice in writting , send with certificate of mailing according to your state laws and plan for his being out at the end of march . If there is a major mess with trash in the house use a camera to document it . but at this point you still would have to prove it , and since you didnt get the light bill out of your name he can argue that you were to pay the bill . 40.00 isnt much and if house is empty this next month will be less .
Then with propane WHEN you have legally gained possession of unit and clean it up and re rent it again you can calculate how many gallons there are in tank and insist that new tenant reimburse you the day they sign as well as all other moneys before keys are given . And as I said set heat low pipes will be fine at 50 . ( now if gauge shows 75 % and it is a 500 gallon tank that means you have 300 gallons since the tanks are only filled to 80 % of capacity to allow for expansion. 300 gallon times the cost per gallon. )

 

[cathdz]

Farmer J

My court date is Monday Feb 24. This is the date for the COMPLAINT IN FORCIBLE ENTRY AND DETAINER. Of course, I requested this court date prior to the tenant paying the rent - so the complaint states that the 850 rent has not been paid and that he owes the propane and power bill (which have now been forwarded to me by the utility companies). You think that the judge will say on Feb 24 that I don't have grounds to evict, right?

If I am understanding correctly, I can give him a letter on Feb 24 and says that I want him out of the house in 30 days?

The tenant will be in jail until June 13, according to Adams County Sheriff's office. The fact that he is a Registered Sex Offender and did not tell me this when renting the house does not enter into this eviction matter in any way - is that right?

 

[FarmerJ]

Your failure to do criminal background check and his history leave it out of the court . ok so see if you can negotiate to return the rent money there is no way to know for sure how a judge will react when the late payment posting is brought up so thats why I said you might have to do it over . You might see if you can negotiate things with the tenant so that if this matter is dropped he would have to give up possession of the unit since he will be in jail and in exchange no UD record if he has some one come and collect his things Other wise like i said no lease and if you lose your case you can still evict with proper notice . so for now why dont you just get your pics taken of the mess in house , keep the lights on , turn heat down , and figure out how much propane he used from the gauge .