3 Month Unpaid Tenant - Need Options

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Crumens

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Location of Rental Home: Binghamton, New York
Tenant's Guarantor's Location: Spring Valley, New York (Approx 180 miles south of Binghamton)

Rental Term: August 16th, 2009 to August 15th, 2010

Our tenant is a full-time student who has provided us with a Guarantor, his mother, who lives 180 miles south.

He has paid rent late multiple times and he has given me his father's number directly to collect rent from them. They have paid rent + late fees in the past.

Now, we are 3 months without any rent payment nor any response from the father nor mother for 2 months. The son has periodically called us and told us his parents will pay. They even made an arrangement to pay 2 months ago and never followed through. I have sent collections letters and called over 20-30 times and they are not taking it seriously.

The one issue we have with an eviction is that rental demand in our area is VERY cyclical and renting out in the middle of a University semester for immediate-2 months occupancy is next to impossible.

What are my options to recoup the 3 month's rent, late fees, and ensure that money is paid to the end of the legal term of the original lease?

What is the maximum we are allowed to collect for late fee/finance fee for 3 month's rent? He was once 2 months late and we only levied $50 for late fees but I am looking to collect on as much as possible now because we have dealt with a lot of hassle.

Any responses would be more than helpful!
 
Any late fees are specified in your lease.
You cant exceed the amounts stated in the lease.
If no one pays, eviction might be your only remedy.
Perhaps, the parents are also in financial difficulty and are unable to pay?
Your legal options are specified in the lease and creatures of state statute.
They are already known to you.
 
Crumens said:
Location of Rental Home: Binghamton, New York
Tenant's Guarantor's Location: Spring Valley, New York (Approx 180 miles south of Binghamton)

Rental Term: August 16th, 2009 to August 15th, 2010

Our tenant is a full-time student who has provided us with a Guarantor, his mother, who lives 180 miles south.

He has paid rent late multiple times and he has given me his father's number directly to collect rent from them. They have paid rent + late fees in the past.

Now, we are 3 months without any rent payment nor any response from the father nor mother for 2 months. The son has periodically called us and told us his parents will pay. They even made an arrangement to pay 2 months ago and never followed through. I have sent collections letters and called over 20-30 times and they are not taking it seriously.

The one issue we have with an eviction is that rental demand in our area is VERY cyclical and renting out in the middle of a University semester for immediate-2 months occupancy is next to impossible.

What are my options to recoup the 3 month's rent, late fees, and ensure that money is paid to the end of the legal term of the original lease?

What is the maximum we are allowed to collect for late fee/finance fee for 3 month's rent? He was once 2 months late and we only levied $50 for late fees but I am looking to collect on as much as possible now because we have dealt with a lot of hassle.

Any responses would be more than helpful!
Click to expand...


What is in the rental contract about late fees? That is how much in late fees you will be able to recover.I would rather an eviction take place than someone live there for free. Have you threatened eviction? if not maybe doing so would make him see the light.
 
Hello,

Thank you for the response. Our lease stipulates $10/day late fee. We originally had $3/day but we always had tenants paying late. Since increasing it to $10, we have had only this one tenant pay late, everyone else pays early now! However, someone once told me that the maximum allowable to be taken as a late fee in New York is 5% of the rent but I have not been able to confirm this amount with what the law actually says. The rent is low @ $300/tenant/month as the setup is common to a student housing setup.

I have sent countless letters and phone calls to the Guarantors telling them if they are having difficulty to give us a call and simply let us know so that we can at least setup a payment plan of some sort or work out details; I even offered to waive most of the late fees. Nothing has been done.

I am looking for some sort of solution to recover the total term rent and still allow the tenant to stay there as I know he has no other option for a place to stay. Would it be possible to sue for 3 month's rent, not pursue eviction, and if he doesn't pay the next 3 months, do the same and pursue eviction?
 
Gail,

If the lease was signed for a property in Binghamton, New York but the Tenant and his Guarantor reside in Spring Valley, New York (180 miles south), where would I file the claim? The rent is paid into a bank account in Binghamton, New York if it makes a difference for place of business or payment.

I intend on defending myself and lack a legal degree, hoping common sense and diligence will push me through this one.

I appreciate all of the help!
 
Small claims court will only get you a judgment. It is merely a piece if paper, not money or a check. Once you get the judgment, you'll have to collect it.

If he isn't paying rent, what makes you think he'll pay the judgment?

Eviction might be your best course of action, because you obviously aren't going to be seeing payment anytime soon!!!


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army judge is quite correct. At the most, the threat of a lawsuit negatively affecting the parents credit rating MAY stimulate payment to avoid this.

I once co-signed on a lease for my oldest son; his father (my ex) asked me to do this because, while he made several times my salary, he was self-employed and could provide no documentation of an actual salary. I agreed with the stipulation that if my son failed to pay and I had to, my ex-husband would reimburse me.

Well..my son failed to pay and when notified, I paid, not only to keep my credit good but because IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO (and my ex never reimbursed me).

Sounds like mom (and dad) might not feel the same way, although if faced with a lawsuit they may open up their purse strings.

Gail
 
Gail and Army Judge,

Thank you very much for the help.

I hope the scare tactic will work enough. Worst case, I have dealt with other non-tenant-landlord related small claims suits and we have effectively collected on personal property and bank assets before. It's a headache but somethings situations like this are unavoidable.

Thanks for your help. I was hoping of a way to settle this out of court as every small claim i've done has not been completed in a timely manner.

Thanks!
 
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