SITUATION:

We had a fire in our top-floor apartment of a frame 3-flat.

Tenant left burning candle in kitchen unattended.

Damage is isolated to the top-floor.

Unit is uninhabitable.

Tenant did not have renters insurance.

Our insurance is going to cover most of the fixes.

We will need time to rehab.

Tenant has all his stuff in the apartment still.

We have not restricted access thus far, but are worried he might be staying there overnights.

We don't want to add to his stress by making him get all his stuff out with a crazy deadline, but we'll need to get it cleared/cleaned in order to rehab. Ideally, vacated for a few months to rehab. And ideally, not re-renting to him as he is a horder and clearly not good with open flames.

Lease says we can terminate immediately if there is a fire.

QUESTIONS:

How can we enforce the Don't Sleep here rule?

How best to communicate and enforce lease termination?

When is it fair to terminate? Fire was 2/2. Rent had not yet been received. We will be reimbursed by insurance for that.

I want to be fair in all this and not insensitive. Any and all advice is appreciated. THANKS!

Good job on having your lease terminate. Give him a few hours to get his stuff out and change the locks until the insurance does what they have to do.

Don't worry about his stuff. Become a broken record thing him to contact his renters insurance.

I know he doesn't have it, just remind him to contact his renters insurance.

It's his fault for not having it. Don't get involved with him other than getting him out and securing the unit.

Ditto to what Ken said about a public claims adjuster. (However I find that most LL's just won't do it) They think they take too much of the settlement,....but they will get so much more that it doesn't cost,..it PAYS... No, your friendly long term family insurance agent is NOT your friend..they really have no control of what you will get,despite they are saying that they will go to bat for you.

As he didn't pay rent I would assume an eviction is in the works.

No renter's insurance? Wow...

Don't feel sorry for him. He burned up your apartment to the point of making it uninhabitable. The fact that he has no renters insurance is his problem. The fact that he blew it with obeying the lease is his problem. The fact that he has stuff to remove which is probably smoke damaged or burned is his problem. Keep emotion out of it.

If it is uninhabitable, did the fire department/police not post it as such? Add a "no Trespassing sign, if they didn't post one. Then enforce it if anyone is there.

Personally, assuming it is safe to enter, I would probably give the tenant a couple days to have everything of value out. Since the lease is immediately terminated, you have possession, and should arrange a time (or 2) when you can unlock it for him to go in and get his stuff. Keep control of the access.

If the unit is truly uninhabitable as determined by city code, there is no "ifs" "ands" or "buts"...you must take action and get him out. If he is injured due to exposure to these conditions, YOU could be liable! How's that for crazy!

Your area/state laws may be different than mine, but this is what I'd do.

Give him 72-hours notice to remove all stuff. If he fails, hire a moving truck and some guys to move everything into a 30-day storage unit. He can come get it whenever he wants. Take pictures so it's clear his "treasures" are ruined and you didn't mess them up. After 30 days, dispose of it.

Everyone is right, the longer he stays there the greater your liability. He could end up suing you if he gets hurt.

I will never understand why anyone would not require renters insurance. It is just beyond me. It is inexpensive for them at approximately $7/month. It not only protects us as LL's it also helps your tenants making it an easy requirement. The insurance will cover their living expenses while they find a new place to live and replace their damaged belongings. And, for LL's in NC it also covers water/sewer backup that NC LL insurance does not cover.

Before renter's insurance became popular and few multifamily units were requiring it (they generally set the trends) I bought renters insurance for all of my tenants. The cost was minimal and I simply added it to the rent. Worked out well.

When mandatory renters insurance became the standard some tenants wanted to get their own since they could increase their personal belongings coverage. I stopped being the middleman.

I don't know how you can buy insurance for someone else. My agent tells me I can't do that. It might be a Colorado thing. I always do the additional interest route. I just hope that it's not a case of my not receiving notices...

I just received a notice the other day from State Farm saying that a tenant's policy will be cancelled next week. I scanned and e-mailed the notice to her.

If I don't receive proof in time I'll just post her with a 3-day notice. I have never had it come to that, though.

JEFF: When I was buying the policies the policy was in the tenants name and the billing came to me. I paid for all of the policies and billed them for their cost.

I'd love to hear more about how the public adjuster process works! Thanks in advance.

Help him move? Got a truck? Give him a reference, help him find some other place.

(Had a slightly retarded young man - he had almost drowned as a kid). Helped him move to a MHP. The guy held down some simple job...)