Tenant moved out but wont return keys

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CTLandlords

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Had a month to month with former tenant in a single occupancy non smoking apartment in multi family where I live with my family as well. Apt is listed as single occupancy primarily due to lack of off street parking (one makeshift parking spot on grass). Due to serious health issues we do not allow smoking. Tenant was with us about 1 1/2 yrs. Immediately after moving in began friendship/relationship with a woman I know personally is smoker and drinker. We mentioned no smoking in apt. Had been finding cig. butts discarded all over yard and driveway but tenant insisted not from him or his friend..so I blamed my son's friends. this was beginning of little irritants and breaches in rental agreement that we began to notice but could not prove.
Fast forward, tenant asks permission for friend to move in. We say no as per lease. several weeks later we notice her car here more and more til finally its here all the time, as is she. We confront issue and tenant gets angry, clenches fists and yells we did not have a problem last time she moved in..??? Unbeknownst to us, obviously as we both work full time and her car was not parked where we could see it. We raise rent, he disputes, comes back to tell me he wont pay so we give move out letter asking him to vacate by June 19th thus giving him required 30 day notice. He informs us he has been looking at apts already anyway so this seems mutually the right choice.
Memorial Day weekend as my family is preparing to leave for a weekend out of state tenant demands his security back then and there as he needs it to give to 'new landlord'. Explain that, per his lease, we need to do a walk through of hte apt once he and girlfriend are physically out of the apt, access any damages, if any, before we return any monies. We tell him he can clean the walls of nicotine, we wont charge for having someone clean up. Tenant is angry and wont accept this answer and continues to yell for his money and unfortunately finally engaged my husband in a yelling match where my husband told him we'd be cleaning the walls and deducting it from sec. dep. Tenant yells that we'll now have to evict him.
By the time the weekend is over both tenant and girlfriend have ceased living in the apartment. A few days later we find out they had their mailed stopped but they have not provided us w/a forwarding address.
The next weekend my husband returns home late at night and smells gas in the home. Upon investigation finds the large outside propane tank that heats the apt furnace/hotwater has been tampered with and the propane is leaking. Husband closes the release valve. The next morning the tenant is back and moving some small items (gas grill propane tank and firearm) from the apt and I hear and notice fire trucks pulling up to my home. I find out a neighbor called in a report of a gas leak. Firemen told him he could not release propane like that to which tenant told them we were not returning his $1400 thus excusing his behavior (we have $1000 in security = 2 months rent). As I'm speaking with the firemen I notice a pile of cig. butts dumped and scattered over the right side of my small front yard. I'm upset at this childish behavior (its noted in the rental agreement that any guests of tenant that smoke outside must properly dispose of cig butts and not just toss them on the ground) so I have had it (haven't even listed numerous other incidents regarding this tenant) and I confront him as he is loading final trip into his truck, he screams he's taking me to court, I keep saying we never said he wasn't getting his sec. dep. back but if he'd read the lease he'd know we have to do a walk through and get estimates, if there are any damages. Its during this screaming match I notice the firearm in his hand. Later find a gas grill propane tank chucked under some trash in the trash bin. I removed it and left a note asking him to properly dispose of it as its a hazzard to put something combustible into the trash container (I checked my town law).
Later that afternoon I fell while walking in my daughter's bedroom, slipping on water pooled on the floor. Can't figure out where water came from immediately til she points out dripping from ceiling. I contact local PD, explain situation, and was told I could enter the apt to 'protect the integrity of my house' and if I need police assistance to call back and if I need the call recording for court, I could have it. So I call a landlord friend of mine and he accompanies me to find the fridge defrosting and water puddled on the floor, thus creating the leaking ceiling below. We remove the remaining ice and clean up the water and leave. I did nothing else. I did leave a photocopied note explaining I had to enter the apt, why, and that PD had been notified. A few hours later a viscious rain storm came in so I added to the note that I was entering one last time to close all the windows-they were all left wide open w/o screens in most, to air out the apartment of the smoke odor. I have not entered the apt since that date and the windows remain closed and it appears the tenant entered the apt the next day for the final time as the propane tank was gone, my note crumpled and tossed into my yard and the door left wide open (it enters into a common area that has access to my basement and my kitchen).
Fast forward, to the best of my knowledge the tenant had not been back. June 19th was the final day of his rental agreement with us, his mail is going elsewhere and the furnace has been disabled due to lack of propane gas in the tank. Tenant has not returned the keys. He stopped over in the evening on June 19th asking my husband if we did the walk through yet and are ready to return his money. He had the keys in his hand but refused to return them. began to argue that I had entered the apt to address the leak and close the windows so I should have done the walk through already. Husband told him we did not have legal access to the apt until the 20th and once we did, we'd be getting estimates to determine any damages before being able to return the deposit. Tenant said he had couch, weight bench and tabletop still in unit and planned on leaving those items in the apt. My husband explained we did not want them left so tenant as he was walking away angrily said he'd be back 'tomorrow' with a chainsaw to chop it up.
And he left.
My question is, do I legally have the right to retake possession of the apartment now that it is June 20th, the rental agreement had ended legally and he has not physically lived in the apt for two weeks, mail is going elsewhere and furnace is disabled? Or do I need to file something with the court. I do not want this man back on my property nor do I have any intentions of fraudently retaining his security deposit but I dont know whats involved in removing the nicotine from the walls (the first tenant we ever had in this apt smoked for the 8 months it took us to remove them and it took us a very long time to remove the yellow nicotine from the walls and the odors from the apartment. I"m thinking professionally is the only way to handle this and I need the estimate and final bill to prove to the court the damages. I'm fine with that.
Can I legally change the locks at this point and retake possession of the apartment? Remember, he still has the keys.
Thank you and sorry so long. I wanted to make certain you understood some of the vindictive behaviors of this tenant and now that my husband travels out of town and I am home with the kids for the summer I do not want to have this linger on nor permit him to be on my property but need to remain legal. Im in CT.
 
Update: Locks are changed, rec'd word from lawyer that based on situation apt was legally back in my poss and I could change the locks. Ex-tenant showed up at door early evening demanding money, I told him he needed to do walk through w/me and remove large items remaining, said he'd go get his saw...never did. He did come upstairs to apt with me, dismantled the 3 items by hand and removed to sidewalk...not preferable but if town charges me, I back charge him.
I gave him copy of move out inspection and took lots of move out pictures. He made call in front of me to his father asking what he should do in regards to not returning apt keys until he had money back. As he was on phone I interrupted him and told him flatly that he could keep the keys if he wanted as the apt is now legally back in my possession and the locks are changed and the charge would be deducted from his security deposit. I received the keys back.... The apartment was left in filthy condition, but he repaired toilet, patched hole in wall (he took the apt w/the hole in the wall telling us not to worry about it and, yes, its all documented), etc...and we never paid him for those items. I told him his own fault for doing so w/o prior permission from us or for not informing us at all of issues that had he done so properly, he'd have been reimbursed. Also told him had he returned the keys and done walk through day he left, he'd be eligible for proration of rent for two and half weeks he did not occupy the apt...because we are nice that way (we always had wonderful landlords who worked with us through my husband's illness and always said we'd 'give back' when we could).
He later confessed an ex-tenant informed him we would burn him so to be retalitory towards us. I told him he acted immature and silly as if he wanted I could show him her records of how she burned us, not visa versa and reminded him of the damage we noted upon movein inspection and pointed out she was the culprit, reminded him I am 20+ yrs as a landlord (just never had this situation before nor was the law clear upon reading of what I was to do), and told him that by listening to her he cost himself money and the court would not look favorably on him based on the reports I have documented regarding his retalitory behavior.
What amazes me is just having the legal answer gave me the confidence to not back down from this guy. Just to note, he is a physical man, clenched fists at me during a disagreement and I am 5'2, 138 lb woman who prefers to avoid confrontation. Thank you for your reply.
 
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