My tenant left me a message telling me that he moved out as planned and that the apt was mine. I went down to change the locks and found the place trashed. There was a broken window and door in one bedroom, holes in a few of the walls, garbage bags full of stuff all over the living room floor. There was a mattress in the living room, another in the bedroom. I found bags of stuff in the basement. The yard and driveway cluttered with children's toys. They ripped the fire alarms out of the ceilings. They left food in the fridge and more stuff all over the basement. Rugs that are barely a year old are ripped and stained. They stole a dryer out of the basement. I called the police, they came out and told me that basically there wasn't anything they could do. They said I could probably take it to small claims court and show the judge pictures of the apt and present the bills for cleaning and repairs but that it probably wasn't worth the time or effort, especially if they're low income. He works in the Stop & Shop warehouse and has another job that I believe is cash only. I doubt they're on the dole. He also failed to pay May's rent or leave a forwarding address. I also have a $300 security deposit. What is my best course of action? I want him to pay his rent plus the cost of cleaning and repairs (if over the $300) plus the cost of having someone remove and haul away all the stuff they left behind. Any help is appreciated, thank You!
Submitted by cola227 on Sat, 05/28/2011 - 08:14
The police are correct: you
The police are correct: you should take pictures and make a tally of the damages, including clean up costs, as well as a tally of unpaid rent. The guy works and you know where he works, two crucial factors in pursuing a claim against him. So you sue him in district or housing court (housing court is better for folks without an attorney) and you explain your damages to the judge. The people at the Housing Court are usually very helpful when it comes to explaining the process. As long as you have all the paperwork on the security deposit (condition statement, etc.) you can apply that to the rent or to the damages. Then you can get a judgment for the damages above and beyond that amount and attempt to collect it.
If the guy actually stole an appliance, the police should be willing to help you with that. If the police you talked to do not want to get involved, you can always go down to the nearest station and swear out a complaint. Good luck.