A tenant is leaving,.. called several days after the first of the month and we told he that he must give a 30 notice (state law and in bold letters in his rental contract) He wasn't happy about it but said he would,..he issued a check and JUST now (a few days ago) we get a statement from the bank that he stopped payment on it.

I hate that it seems that tenants have learned tricks to not pay their last months rent.Networks of tenants that give suggestions,.. (YES we could have been tighter with our policies to prevent this but didn't)

I would like to report to credit agencies that he DIDN"T PAY his last months rent,..yes we have a security deposit but paying the last months rent isn't what it is for.

In this market and state we really can't add another month's rents (last)

The only weapon I can think of to possibly use is the fact we can report it.

However can we report it w/o a court order?

INSF on a check is illegal. Stop Payment is not.

You can report him to the credit bureau using the service at this site. Look at the yellow tap on the top of this page. You do not need a court judgment.

That is why cimba ONLY gets cash, money order or cashiers check... AND DONT SEND CASH IN THE MAIL MORON!!!

I also tell idiots to keep their receipts from money orders etc... cuz if you use up your once per year limit of 'its lost in the mail story' you will need to track it and pay me...

Just had one this week... She wanted me to sign free money form from red cross which states 'i wont evict her if they send me 250'... NICE!!! the rent isn't 250 for this apt it is 595 so i dont think so... She said she was praying on monday that i received her 200 towards rent (in money order form)..

I told her exactly this: 'PRAYING ISNT GOING TO GET YOUR MONEY ORDER HERE, YOU HAVE TO SEND ONE FIRST'... I told her if you sent it, it would be here... I asked her for her receipt of it, she said she cleaned her car last week and may have thrown it out.

I told her 'you know on the 2nd when we were here working and i knocked on your door you told me you were sending the rent the next day LIE!!!! Now you tell me you are praying that I receive your money order that was never sent and you cant find the receipt for LIE!!!

5-day, court, eviction, BYE BYE LOSER!!!!

Peace,

Is he out? If not, give him an eviction notice. Show him you mean business! If you file an eviction, even if it gets dismissed, it will be on his record.

Yes you can charge las months rent in Mass.

At the beginning of a tenancy you can charge 1st mths rent, last mths rent, sec deposit, and for cost of changing locks and keys. Read 1)b. of the following:

www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/186-15b.htm

Many LLs charge first, last, and a smaller SD. E.g. if rent is $1000/mth. First and last is $1000 each and SD is only $500. Remember, the penalty for mismanaging the SD is 3x the deposit (see 2 of the above link). Thus, why the smaller SD might make sense plus the market situation.

Ok re eviction notice.

Ok guys, I beg to disagree with some of you. It is illegal to stop payment on a check you have received goods or services for. The prosecutor normally gives them 10 days to make check good. From the maine attorney generals site

Can you place a stop-payment order on a check if you received a poor repair job?

You can; but we do not advise it. Remember, if you intentionally give a bad check (e.g., pay with a check that you intend to stop-payment on) you could be committing a criminal offense.

See Maine Attorney General's Consumer Law Guide, § 26.7, Check Cashing Consumer Protection.

Credit bureaus are for reporting debt. You need a tenant reporting service to do what you want. You can report non-adjudicated debt, but it is pretty easy to dispute.

Well, it was 2004 and I used this site to report a guy who did just that 3 x @ $ 500. He responded claiming he never was in CA. but he had his SSN printed on the checks and was a Marine. He once got out of a taxi and needed to bum the fare from his LL. (It was never returned, of course).