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I think my tenant has moved without telling me

I orginally posted this in the wrong section...

I have an elderly tenant that lives alone and doesn't speak English. She's a good tenant, keeps to herself and always pays me on time. When I bought the house about a year ago, she was only paying $400 a month rent. Her apt was in need of a lot of work so I didn't feel as though I could I raise her rent without fixing up the apt. I've finished her apt in April and gave her notice on May 1st, that her rent will increase on 7/1. I went to collect my rent today and found boxes full of stuff in the hallway outside her apt. On the side of the house was furniture, a couch, table and chairs, a hutch and misc. householed items. All but one of the blinds were closed and when I peaked in, all the pictures were removed from her walls and there were a bunch of boxes piled up against a wall. I knocked and got no answer. I tried my key but the lock has been changed. Her son lives upstairs but he's bum, a gifted liar and since I'm in the process of evicting him, I don't expect he'll tell me the truth. I called him but got no answer. I knocked on his door and again, no answer, though I believe he was home. How can I find out if she moved? I do know that she was anticipating a rent increase months ago and applied for housing or a housing subsidy. The city housing dept contacted me back in March or April for some information. I'm assuming, if she moved, it was to city housing. If I contact them, will they tell me? Since I recently rented another apt in the building, I have a list of people interested and could easily have the apt rented within the week. What are my next steps? I don't want to enter the apt illegally.

Editor's Response

This is always a tough situation, full of risk, and I am afraid my answer is a very cautious one.  See this article in our Quick Info Library:  http://www.malawforum.com/content/when-tenant-abandons-personal-property
 
Another option would be to see if you can get any info out of the son.  Try telling him that unless you can talk to the tenant and verify her departure you will have to go through the eviction process, and that will leave a record that could impact his mother's future rental application.  Good luck.  


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