dead tenant

[ralphp54]

State of NJ. Tenant died earlier this month. There was no lease, I held no security. Even the utilities were billed in my name and he reimbursed me monthly. Tenant was a single male. Next of kin are his elderly mother and one sister. Rent is paid thru Jan 31.
My question is (1) How do I regain possesion of the premises by Feb 1 -OR- (2) How do I proceed if the family cannot clean out and return the premises to me by feb 1?

Also, do I have any legal claims to the deceased's estate in the event that I am stiffed for Feb (Mar....Apr....this could go on for months!)

 

[djdj]

Absolutely, YOU must evict both the tenant and the estate from the apartment, and any aka john or jane doe's

Failure to do so, will mean it will get toss out of court and you will have to start all over.

You must provide some documentation, for the rent...reciepts cancelled checks something to prove what the rent was, and prove he paid the elctric too, but with it in your name unless he paid you by check both the rent and utilities, and you can verify the amounts....then chances are they will assume the utilities were INCLUDED in the rent, and you may have a hard time collecting that, but you cant turn them off either, the family members executor/trix may stay in the apartment overnight, they have a right to,

Also they will find it hard to believe you have no security, so plan on losing a months rent,they may pay you but it is not normal not to collect a security deposit.

So This is not really a problem, unless they refuse to pay you...most of the time they know the rent and other bills have to be paid....But to protect your self you should give them a 30 day notice to move before Jan 31st to be out by March 1st. But keep it friendly, and all should work out.

 

[ralphp54]

DJDJ - Thanks fopr the info. How do I address the Noticeto Move? Do I address that to the the mother/sister or to the Estate of the tenant? Also I was unclear as to what you meant when you said "aka John or Jane Doe".

Is there a site where I can get an example of the Notice to Move? Thanks so much!!

By the way, the tenant was a very close and trusted freind, which is why there was no lease/security, and the utilities were in my name to save him the expence of a deposit to the utility co. We're gonna try to keep this as freindly as possible, but my friend would be absolutely shocked at the way his family is behaving. I know .... even with a friend, get it in writing..............