Possible rent payment issue to be raised in court?

[sweetsebring]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan


The situation is as follows. The rent is almost 2 months behind starting from mid sept. The tenant had paid in the beginning of november for 1/2 month (we are on a bi-monhly basis) and asked that it be credited for 11/1 - 11/15. The tenant asked because they are receiving state help and needed to show that they are paying the current dues and was asking for help for past dues from mid-sept to end of october.

BTW, on oct 26 I had sent a demand for possesstion for the monies due. As of today the mones for mid-sept thru Oct are due and 11/15 to current are due. I am looking to take the next step to file for a court date.

My question is, by me agreeing to take their one payment and showing it paid for 11/1-11/15 while money in the past was due, will this be a problem in court? The only reason I did this is they had said it would help them get state aid by showing payment like this.

Out lease agreement does stipulate that I would apply money rec'd to an outstanding balance and not current rent. I went outside of these guidelines to help them receive the state aid and my owed money. I probably shouldn't of have and now am wondering what implications I may of cause for myself.

 

[sandyclaus]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan


The situation is as follows. The rent is almost 2 months behind starting from mid sept. The tenant had paid in the beginning of november for 1/2 month (we are on a bi-monhly basis) and asked that it be credited for 11/1 - 11/15. The tenant asked because they are receiving state help and needed to show that they are paying the current dues and was asking for help for past dues from mid-sept to end of october.

BTW, on oct 26 I had sent a demand for possesstion for the monies due. As of today the mones for mid-sept thru Oct are due and 11/15 to current are due. I am looking to take the next step to file for a court date.

My question is, by me agreeing to take their one payment and showing it paid for 11/1-11/15 while money in the past was due, will this be a problem in court? The only reason I did this is they had said it would help them get state aid by showing payment like this.

Out lease agreement does stipulate that I would apply money rec'd to an outstanding balance and not current rent. I went outside of these guidelines to help them receive the state aid and my owed money. I probably shouldn't of have and now am wondering what implications I may of cause for myself.

Let me see if I understand this.

Your tenant asked you to basically lie and say that the rent was current so that they could qualify for state aid. They are behind in their rent for over 2 months now. You BOTH committed fraud by reporting this bad information to a government agency so that you might see some money for rent out of this.

What makes you think that they are telling you the truth and that you'll actually see a dime of whatever money they might be collecting? Go before a judge on an eviction matter with this tenant, and you'll find yourself facing charges for defrauding the government agency. That would DEFINITELY affect your credibility in court.

Does that about sum it up for you?

 

[sweetsebring]

Please let me clarify what what happened did...
Its never been my intention for fraud. I am not familiar with the department of human services as thankfully have not used them but the tenants informed me during this process that they had to show they were making rent payments again and the department would provide assistance to pay for the back rent that was owed. That was the only reason I did what I did.
At that time, I didn't think about the implication in the courts for the eviction process and now realize how it looks.

I was likely pulled into a lie by my tenants and should of consulted an attorney before I did what I did.

 

[sandyclaus]

Guess what?

Please let me clarify what what happened did...
Its never been my intention for fraud. I am not familiar with the department of human services as thankfully have not used them but the tenants informed me during this process that they had to show they were making rent payments again and the department would provide assistance to pay for the back rent that was owed. That was the only reason I did what I did.
At that time, I didn't think about the implication in the courts for the eviction process and now realize how it looks.

I was likely pulled into a lie by my tenants and should of consulted an attorney before I did what I did.

You just told us that you certified that your tenant has no unpaid back rent - an outright lie told to the gov't agency for financial gain according to your account. Yes, you figured you could recover the unpaid back rent by backing the tenant in his duplicity, but again, you KNEW it was untruthful and did it anyway. STRIKE ONE.

You gave your tenant documentation that could be used as evidence in court that your they don't owe any back rent. STRIKE TWO.

According to the gov't agency now, there is no unpaid rent, so how do you think the tenant figures to get more money from the agency to pay you for a debt you have told them doesn't exist? STRIKE THREE.

You're OUT.

You will have a very difficult time proving the tenants owe the back rent now. And you still may face fraud charges to boot. Sure, that wasn't your intention, but that's the hard and now unavoidable truth.

Next time you have a rent issue with any tenants, do yourself a favor and consult an attorney before you make things worse.

 

[sweetsebring]

I don't disagree with what you are saying. At the time they had asked me, I thought that was DHS policy(and it may be, I have been unable to confirm up to this point). The tenant had mentioned that his caseworker told them that she didn't want them to come back again for help on rent so she would help on the back rent owed but they had to show they could start making current rent payments again.

As far as I know, they took my demand for possesstion letter showing the back rent owed and the receipt to show they paid the first current rent payment due with a balance showing for the back rent owed.

I realize this might be one big fat lie from the tenants and I had no intention to fraud a government agency.

 

[TigerD]

Your taking their money and giving them a receipt showing them current on rent, means you lost the rest of it. You can sue them for it or turn it over to a collection agency, but you cannot evict them for it.

DC

 

[sandyclaus]

I don't disagree with what you are saying. At the time they had asked me, I thought that was DHS policy(and it may be, I have been unable to confirm up to this point). The tenant had mentioned that his caseworker told them that she didn't want them to come back again for help on rent so she would help on the back rent owed but they had to show they could start making current rent payments again.

As far as I know, they took my demand for possesstion letter showing the back rent owed and the receipt to show they paid the first current rent payment due with a balance showing for the back rent owed.

I realize this might be one big fat lie from the tenants and I had no intention to fraud a government agency.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

If you were uncertain about DHS policy, you would be safer to check it out before making the mistake you did. And current rent payment is a misnomer - if they had past rent that was still unpaid, then any "current" rent payment goes toward the past balance and NOT towards the current rent due. You even acknowledged this as being part of your lease agreement.

While these bad folks may have taken advantage of you, you let them do it. Again, with dollar signs in your eyes, hoping to get the government to bail you out of a bad situation. Sad, really, but your own fault.