Tenant still has keys

[ChrisLittleGirl]

What is the name of your state? Maine

I wondered something while reading another post. Does a tenant actually still have possession of an apartment if htey still have the keys??

Heres how it went

Served notice on April 1, May 1st came and tenant asked for the weekend to move so she could get a moving truck, we agreed and gave her till the 4th, well she showed up the fifth and was finishing moveing stuff, we asked her about removing hte couch she left outside and she agreed it would be gon by tuesday the 6th and its still there.

The house isnt "legal" because of the zoning of the house in our town but everything else is.

Is there a good way to get the keys back and have her remove whats left (there some kitchen things left as well) She left the place a disaster and broken/stained just about everything as well as smoked then she wasnt allowd. (We took photos) and she said she gave a SD but wouldnt provide us with a reciept (she usto rent for my greatgrandmother 15 yrs ago and we KNOW my g-grandmother never took deposits as shes been renting places that way for 60 years.


Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

 

[BL]

What is the name of your state? Maine

I wondered something while reading another post. Does a tenant actually still have possession of an apartment if htey still have the keys??

Heres how it went

Served notice on April 1, May 1st came and tenant asked for the weekend to move so she could get a moving truck, we agreed and gave her till the 4th, well she showed up the fifth and was finishing moveing stuff, we asked her about removing hte couch she left outside and she agreed it would be gon by tuesday the 6th and its still there.

The house isnt "legal" because of the zoning of the house in our town but everything else is.
Is there a good way to get the keys back and have her remove whats left (there some kitchen things left as well) She left the place a disaster and broken/stained just about everything as well as smoked then she wasnt allowd. (We took photos) and she said she gave a SD but wouldnt provide us with a reciept (she usto rent for my greatgrandmother 15 yrs ago and we KNOW my g-grandmother never took deposits as shes been renting places that way for 60 years.


Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

Explain the house isn't " legal " .

As far as SD , if there's not proof it was paid , there's no proof the tenant is entitled to it's return .

Since the tenant is requesting the SD return , ask them what their intent is on the stuff left behind ?

I would say if they left it a disaster , to change the locks , and clean it up .

If it's not " legal" to rent , then don't rent it .

 

[ChrisLittleGirl]

The way the town is zoned that 1 mile up the road one way its legal to have apts within a home residance, the other directions the same thing, but the place we are located is that it isnt. As far as everything else goes its legal, we could get a CO for it if the house was moved a 1 mile in either directions. The apartment has private enterance, private parking, 2 enterences/exits for use or for in the event of a fire.

Heres some of the damnage:

The same tenant lived there for 15 yrs so i understand there is wear and tear but when she actaully took out part of the door frame so the door handle lock wont lock (she actually puttied it to get a "better seal") And actually ripped off the pop out molding on the door so the door needs to be fully replaced. Thats why i didnt want to change hte locks untill we get the new door in.

The carpets would have to be replaced anyways after that long but its discusting haveing to pick up dried cat diahrea (sp?) thats been left there for a long time. (the places smells VERY VERY stong of urine and she admited the cat was peeing in the closets, she wasnt ever supposed to have animals to begin with)

The refrigerator that was just bought for her 2 weeks ago after the other one quit is nasty, sticky and stinks.

The counters were left with a stinky jelly on them (counters are white) and are now stained a light pink/red color.

New Tile flooring in the kitchen only 5 months old, are super sticky, have some sort of yellow licquid lightly stained, red soda/licquid all over them, smells of alcohol where it got spilt and is extreamly sticky.

Shes wrecked the sliding closet doors, all off the tracks and bottem sliders broken.

She smoked in the apartment after several times of telling her not to and so after the years the drop ceiling tiles are fully stained a light brown and will have to be replaced and or repainted. (she cut chunks out of the ceiling to hang her plants)

Those are just a few out of the list of whats shes done.

Ive asked her Several times in writing and verabally to leave a forwarding adress, keys, and a phone number and asked her for a copy of the deposit recipet and she kept saying shes packed it and said if she finds it she will send it to us or she would leave it and then never did. We all know there isnt one as thats not the way my g-grandmother ever did business.

We unfortunatly have to rent it out as its the only way for my grantmother not to loose the house. We have chosen to only rent it to those the family knows, either family themselves or very close friends of hte family.

 

[Cvillecpm]

Find out your abandonment options and post the property and then change the locks after the appropriate time has expired and you have posted the property correctly.

Advise tenant you are charging 3X per diem rent as STORAGE for her possessions

Make sure you know forwarding address

She owes RENT until the couch and other items are removed....very expensive storage

 

[MIRAKALES]

Tenant that has been given proper legal notice to vacate by a certain date and complies to move-out on or about that date is not in possession of the premises. Tenant that remains in possession of keys after move-out is not uncommon. Failure to return keys to LL or failure to remove all personal property from premises only makes tenant a nuisance, but not a tenant in possession. Change the locks and send tenant a written notice to retrieve personal possession within ten (10) days. While restoring the premises to original condition and during clean up, allow the tenant’s possession to remain on premise until rental is prepared to show.

With that said, NONE of this should matter because the house is an “illegal rental.” After fifteen (15) years of use it is difficult to distinguish tenant neglect from normal wear and tear. Most of the damages described are questionable, unless the rental was maintained on a regular basis during the tenancy. Issues of tenant neglect or abuse should be addressed at the time of incident.

• LL should have repaired door handle lock, giving tenant no need to partially remove door frame.
• LL should have replaced carpet during tenancy as a regular condition of maintenance.
• LL should have issued notice of pet violation at the time of discovery (when cat diarrhea and urine odors were discovered).
• LL should have issued notice of smoking violation at the time of discovery (when stained ceiling tiles were discovered).

After fifteen (15) years of tenancy, refrigerator and Formica counter replacement would be considered normal wear and tear. (Ditto… for closet doors, ceiling tiles, etc.)

The Security Deposit Settlement Statement should be issued within twenty-one (21) days for a month-to-month tenancy, thirty (30) days for an annual tenancy, according to the laws in the State of Maine (ME). Regardless of whether a security deposit was actually collected, the settlement statement should be issued by LL as required by law. The security deposit balance amount will read Zero Dollars ($0.00) with the itemized expense for damages and repairs beyond normal wear and tear. According to the information, the damages and repairs are minimal -- sanitizer to remove pet odor, cleaning refrigerator and floor tiles, ceiling tile replacement. (Minimal for long-term tenancy with irregular maintenance.) If tenant decides to make payment on the settlement charges then LL will be fortunate. If tenant decides not to pay settlement charges then LL has no further recourse. The rental was illegal and the issues regarding the tenancy will not be acknowledged by the court because the matters were not criminal or intentionally negligent. It is not possible to collect damages for an illegal rental.