Tenant's Misdeeds go unpunished

[jlw1000]

I have a couple general questions:

1) Why is it that when a tenant claims that a landlord removed their belongings without permission, they can file a theft claim with the police? Yet when a tenant does not pay rent & refuses to vacate the landlord has to go through the long and ridiculous process of an eviction? I believe that if the landlord is forced to go through housing court for every little thing (including physical threats made by the tenant), then the tenant should be subjected to the same obstacle course that is called the legal system and I am wondering why the tenant gets preferential treatment?

2) When you rent a car, furniture, etc. & refuse to pay for it or return it-a theft report can (and usually is) filed against the renter. A house (or rental property) has far more value then any of these items, yet the landlord is forced to support deadbeats with a rent free home, and have the added financial kick in the a** that the tenant usually ends up destroying the property (because they are angry that the landlord has the nerve to even ask for rent)! This is theft by the tenant plain and simple, and I just can't understand why criminal charges can not be filed (even when the tenant purposefully vandalizes the property or threatens the landlord with physical harm/death), can someone explain this?

 

[Cvillecpm]

The answers to both questions is....

The property owner/landlord did not screen the tenant sufficiently.

Professional landlords and managers will tell you that this is half of the battle. Since you don't say where this is happening or specifics of the situation, the answer to the specifics of your eviction question is moot. However, again, professional landlords take classes on evictions and tenant relations from various Realtor organizations, apartment councils and management associations. They are also given at junior colleges and through various commercial venues.

Landlords need to know more than tenants and situations you recount reflect this.

 

[FarmerJ]

even with best efforts like searching for unlawful detainer records /credit checks and comunity safety programs providing criminal background checks , One still can find things like Landlord referances that are a lie , (because they want the person to move ) over the years I have seen it too some renters take better care of there car than they do there home , have no problem paying for their CATV bill yet cannot pay the rent on time , I had one when i first bought the last place I was in who lived in unit above me that didnt pay her rent on time alot and it got to a point that she wouldnt come home till 1 am and was gone by 5 am to avoid me then had a major hissy fit when I sent her a eviction letter , and worse fit when she didnt vacate by and I went to court again for her failing to honor my notice , she did move out before court hearing . But up here the fact that there was a filing haunted her . she had several landlords later whom did check UD records and refused to rent to her even though the matter never made it to court there was a record of the filing , sorry to say you too will have your share of (war ) storys , all one can do is learn all they can to get a handle on it , up here the most insulting thing with rentals is that minneapolis public housing gets away with things in private market that one cannot do , I have seen them tos out folks on short notice with no court , yet pvt market cant & much more

 

[Cvillecpm]

Professionals know:

1) Always go 2 landlords BACK as current one may well lie to get rid of the tenant;

2) Use a professional screening service/website and ALWAYS charge a credit/application fee - max allowable by state law;

3) Have a policy on rent collection - due on 1st, late by the 5th, serve notice on the 6th, file UD on the 11th. If tenants pay, write letter that policy is that if notice has to be served more than 2X in any 12 month period, lease won't be renewed;

4) Always deal with leases - not month to month. Landlords who know how to evict, realize that a 30 day/month to month tenancy is no benefit to them - only to tenants;

5) Attend to NSF checks, late rental payments, damage to the property "in the moment" and not at the end of the lease or tenancy...

 

[renter3]

All good stories as as usual i have some nasty landlord ones as well, beng sick with 102 fever and the flu and the landlord at my door with the police "friend" both drunk on Sunday the 2nd demanding i get out, while my steady job of 2 years has my payckeck still on my desk at work.

UH how am i supposed pick up my check to deposit it when i have the runs?

Yeah i have lived in the REDNECK South...


So if you are a reasonably Normal person like me, you appriciate a good landlord, take care of the property dont blast music at 2 am, bring in the mail, heck even shovel the snow on the sidewalk, i got to get out as well.

And in return you dont raise the rent or if you do its in a small amount.

I ALWAYS get a lease for the first year, that protects ME against lazy drunk assshole landlords, and if everything is fine and i can trust the landlord then month to month is ok.

Here in New York City which protects tenants only becuse it is next to impossible to re-rent anywhere fast, even landlord have a fast track way f evcition and that is NOT to ask for money, only posession, so to file for evcition after say 10 days is very common.

But reading through the post it seems like a lot you Never actually bought your property, you acquired it by a family member dying. Like my father had 6 apartments he rented 3 2 family houses all becuase relatives died, and his brother and sister was out west.

Also lots of landlords wont take care of the property either, and epect the tenant to pay for repairs, which is wrong if the tenant didnt do the damage.

Then the nut case landlords who want every last day of rent then Illegally try and evict you the day before the closing, when you have a lease!

 

[Cvillecpm]

P P P is not the landlord's problem. 'Cuse the pun

 

[jlw1000]

Cvillecpm:

1) Always go 2 landlords BACK as current one may well lie to get rid of the tenant;

2) Use a professional screening service/website and ALWAYS charge a credit/application fee - max allowable by state law;

3) Have a policy on rent collection - due on 1st, late by the 5th, serve notice on the 6th, file UD on the 11th. If tenants pay, write letter that policy is that if notice has to be served more than 2X in any 12 month period, lease won't be renewed;

4) Always deal with leases - not month to month. Landlords who know how to evict, realize that a 30 day/month to month tenancy is no benefit to them - only to tenants;

5) Attend to NSF checks, late rental payments, damage to the property "in the moment" and not at the end of the lease or tenancy...

I have done and still do all of the above. I also use professional screening services. I just find it despicable that the legal system is set up to aid tenant's in the theft and/or destruction of property that is not their own. Yet a tenant can make any wild claim they want (i.e. the landlord stealing their property) & actually get the landlord arrested usually through false reports.

Example:

I had a friend, very honest, fair, professional landlord. The tenant's claimed that he had stolen some of their property. They stated he had entered the premises while they were at work & he just chose what he wanted. I sincerely doubt the tenants even owned any of the items they claimed were stolen.

Imagine his surprise when the cops show up at his home while he is having dinner with his family. His 4 year old has to watch the police take daddy away in handcuffs. He tried to explain to the police that he has been evicting these tenants for non-payment of rent, & that the court had found in his favor & the tenant's were to leave. He had an attorney handling the eviction so he would not be in contact with these lunatics. He had not been to the property in months!

These louses did not show up for the criminal hearing, and all charges were dropped. He has not received a dime from these deadbeats for back rent or damages. He incurred considerable costs in legal fees from this bogus charge & the eviction.

Now how in the world is this fair? I have other horror stories as well, and they are a direct consequence of how unfair the legal system is. It is basically set up as a legal version of Robin Hood--take from the rich (or the ones trying to make a living) and give to the poor (or the lazy slobs that want someone to support them).

Luckily not all tenants take advantage of this unfair situation, but enough do that it makes you wonder why the courts are just so blatantly unfair, & I was just hoping someone could shed some light on the situation!

 

[renter3]

I pretty much agree with both of you, but here in NYC its prety bad, ony because lots of apartment building landlords want to screw as many people as possible.

They have rent control/ stabilization here which is not a great system but the landlords are guarenteed a profit each year.

They exchange a low rent plus a few % increase each year, for a MUCH lower Original purchase price and MUCH lower real estate taxes....

But the scam, nastyness comes in when, the sooner you kick long term tenants out the quicker you can raise the rent sky high then dump the building on someone else and you made a ton of profit.

And that is where most of the horror stores come in people living 30 years or more in an apartment so the landlord moves someone in next door with a pit bull, and 3 kids in the apartment above them.

Instead of just waiting for them to die or move into nursing home or to florida.

So thats why its a baseball game each side slugs it out with the other until its over.

You see when there is severe inequity in the market then it sinks to the lowest common denomiator....heck back in 94-5 some landlords were so desperate for good tenants they were offering a free months rent in Manhattan, free credit checks and even having available help to move you in at the building.

 

[jlw1000]

Cvillecpm:

I do want to add that I find your attitude a little offensive & quite distressing. Apparently you have never been the victim of a tenant that was a professional deadbeat & knew all the legal tricks to get out of paying rent. You have been very fortunate, but it seems that professional deadbeats are becoming more prevalent & you might not be so lucky in the future. (One can only hope, maybe then you will learn some compassion and empathy for someone that has been wronged.)

Blaming the victim is not the answer. Do you blame rape victims? Victims of child molestation? Murder victims? I hope not! A victim of a crime is just a victim. They do not ask for this treatment. In my experience (and it is unfortunately quite extensive) criminals are very crafty & know how to manipulate the system. They know how to cry "crocodile tears" to the cops & judges, & know how to stick it to the person they have wronged by using & abusing the legal system.

I really think landlords need to start sticking together & make a change to the laws to make them more equitable. Everyone is screaming about tenant's rights, but takes great pleasure in bashing the landlord and calling them slumlords. (I have never met a slumlord yet, being a renter in my past and now as a landlord.) Nobody is concerned about the landlord's rights, including other landlords such as yourself. (If you are actually a property manager, anyone can claim anything on the internet.)

Unfortunately I have not been able to find a landlord group in my state, but I am still looking. I have gone over the landlord/tenant code thoroughly & made suggestions for changes to my representative. He has received my suggestions, but ignored me because I am one person.