State Specific Question About: FLORIDA (FL)

Have you actually seen the tenant at the assisted living facility?

Who's listed on the application as an emergency contact?

How long in total has the tenant been paying rent to you?

Who's paying their utilities?

24/7 care is expensive, do you think she has the assets or insurance to cover it?

It's time to consult with your own lawyer to get their take on the situation. Make sure you have the following for them;

A copy of the present rental agreement as well as the application?

What kind & who's taken care of the pets now?

What utilities the tenant pays.

Name of assisted living facility.

I would be inclined try to see the tenant& make a determination for myself what the outcome might be. If after taking with or trying to communicate with the tenant, I thought they couldn't or didn't want to return, I'd be inclined to consult with my lawyer for their input. Then most likely I'd change the locks & secure the property. Make sure you post notice stating who to contact to gain entry. I'm not sure what I'd do with any pets.

Tough situation, but as Brad says, no one except you cares if your rent gets paid or if the unit gets cleaned out. You don't know who these friends are, or if they really have permission to remove the tenant's possessions. How were you notified that the rent checks will stop April1st? Verbal or in writing? Have you tried to contact the emergency contacts listed on the application? I would not go, meet with tenant, make my best armchair judge guess to determine if they are legally competent, etc.

I would immediately change the locks, post a notice with your 24/7 contact info for the tenant/authorized entrant to contact you and bar all entry to anyone without legal, written authorization to be there. Put all pets in a shelter today, explain the situation that the owner is going to assisted living and may be contacting them. That ought to light a fire to get the power of attorney papers signed, if indeed this is ever going to get done.

I suspect that no one will step forward. You may have to go through legal eviction process when the rent doesn't arrive next month.

If someone doe step forward with papers, ask that they sign a paper that all of the tenant's belongings will be removed and possession released before April 30th and anything left behind is the landlords. If they won't sign, repeat last paragraph.

If they have a key and move them out .... sell their stuff ie. END YOUR PROBLEM. What's the problem?

It is so easy to get sucked into another families problems.

Avoid it at all cost.

Who said change the locks?

You Janet in FL. Your rent is paid. Come April 1 or 3 whenever you normally notify tenants about no rent received-- follow the non payment of rent procedure. You have no legal right to change locks. Should the person representing this individual send keys and their authority to act paperwork to you with a statement surrendering the house your stuck.

As far as friends emptying house--- hope they take it all. If and when someone with the power to act in the tenants behalf and produces the authority to do so-- your a LL waiting on rent. You are inserting yourself into the policeman of the year position getting involved with removal of tenants belongs. Maybe tenant told them to sell her stuff?

Why do LL's continually involve themselves in the personnel life and DRAMA of tenants?

Stick with the facts. Your tenant has:

1) kept current with rent

2) made arrangements for pet care while gone.

How do you think the judge would view it if you changed the locks and disposed of her pets?

You should not get involved until the rent goes unpaid. Tomorrow, when the check doesn't show up, post the 3-day notice and go from there.

Thank you ALL for your advice. After sleeping on it, I have decided to follow the legal process. When I don't get the rent due on April 1, payable by 3rd, will start the official notice process for non-payment of rent and/or abandonment of property.

I have personally visited the tenant while in a rehab facility and she has no short term memory. Like groundhog day but forgets within minutes who visited her, if she ate, etc. Very sad. Medical personal have determined she needs 24/7 care.

She did not give keys to anyone. Night she had stroke I was informed by neighbor it was like a free for all with friends grabbing keys. Again, all good intentions to help her out.

There was NO alternate contact on lease as she said she had NO living relatives (now I am told she has a cousin in another state who I will try to contact). But again,with no Power of Attorney, it is a moot point.

Nothing has been removed from the house as I have been there for maintenance issues. I do not plan on taking pets to a shelter if I don't have to and hoping friends find them a home - one little dog is 14 years old and shelter I dread the thought of what they would do. Cat and bird, well, another issue.

I am hoping that posting a notice as well as sending a certified notice will light a fire under her '3' friends that keep passing the buck.

Any other thoughts appreciated. you folks are GREAT

Call your county, see if there is a person who has the job of Public Administrator. Let the county public administrator know of the situation and ask them to step in. Let them know that the situation needs to be fast-tracked. He/She can get a court order and take care of business.

want to never get your rental back call in some gov't administrator-- yea they'll help you. help you never rent that unit again until 2017.

I would say this-- if your pretty positive she has no relative to contact-- i would rent a storage unit and place her things in there for safekeeping. (neighbors appear to be picking the place clean) Send a registered letter to her at the house and one regular mail. These rental units are about 125 per month and let it play out. Anyone comes by asking. she asked you to protect her stuff from the neighborhoods vandalising her.

I agree with Tyrant.

Learn what is your problem and what is not. Tenant is in a Care Facility? Not my problem. Tenant gave keys to tenant's friends? Not my problem. Tenant's friends take T's personal property and sell it? Not my problem.

T's friends are not getting a Power of Attorney? I could not care less! T's friend does get a Power of Attorney? So what? Again, I don't care. That just allows the friend to act on behalf of the T. But to act how? T is under a 2 year lease, and friend's hypothetical Power of Attorney does not change that.

Tenant's friends are feeding T's pets (which pets are properly declared and permitted under the lease)? Great, I hope they are cleaning up after the pets as well. If the pets are not fed, and are starving and ruining the property, that will be my problem in the future, but I'll deal with it after I get possession.

April 1, no payment, that is my problem, and I will deal with it by serving a Pay Or Quit as early as possible, and filing for eviction as soon as possible.

@Mike45 and others,

I'm with you on the "not my problem" stance. Up to a point:

"If the pets are not fed, and are starving and ruining the property, that will be my problem in the future, but I'll deal with it after I get possession."

@Mike45 and others,

I'm with you on the "not my problem" stance. Up to a point:

"If the pets are not fed, and are starving and ruining the property, that will be my problem in the future, but I'll deal with it after I get possession."

Couple of clarifications since it seems like some folks not reading all that I wrote.

Friends ARE NOT picking the place clean. They are trying to help, just not doing it legally if they sell contents of her home w/o power of attorney. Pets are being well taken care of but homes need to be found for them. I do think that her 'church' friends need to step up and try to find foster homes vs. forever homes for them in case tenant gets better (which I doubt)

Public administrator is an option, but I agree it can drag things out. I do believe only option is legal using terms of the lease and non-payment of this months rent and abandonment.

I had advised friends of putting items in storage but said that financially tenant could not afford that and the $5K plus a month to be in a 24/7 assisted living facility. I just sold our self-storage business last year and can tell you that it would be closer to $250 plus/month to store all the items she has.

Most likely they will do a sale while I am out of town for 3 weeks this month so I am asking a friend to take pictures (if it gets that far) I just need to look at when I can legally change the locks.

And, again, tenant DID NOT GIVE KEYS TO FRIENDS, they took the keys, and made copies when tenant had her stroke . And they did not call me, a neighbor did call to tell me what was going on.

Janet, with the clarifications you just posted, I'll double down on my advice to secure the property, change the locks and not let anybody in unless they have legal papers to enter. You say you know that her friends stole keys from your tenant, and plan to sell her items. The tenant probably doesn't have legal capacity to give them the keys anyway. You are aiding in this theft.

Thank you JR for your advice. Your sage advice is what has been in the back of my mind all this time when I was told about the keys being taken. Our plan of action right now is to serve the 3 day notice of non-payment of rent AND abandonment of premises and then immediately change the locks. As per the lease agreement, the notice will go out on Monday and if rent is not received, we go in an change the locks next Friday. I plan on asking the neighbor to call me if he sees any signs of items being removed from the premises or any signs of an estate sale - which, I believe they would schedule next weekend at the earlies due to time frame to advertise and price items. The other fact I did not share was that some of the items in the house belong to me as I originally rented the premises as furnished - tenant did bring her own furniture but also opted to keep some of mine so if they sell my items,I can go after them as well.

Where is Brad?? He would say spend the money to move everything to storage unit and give them the key. (i believe that has been his advice in the past. )