One of my employees is having issues with a rental property and has asked for some advice. Knowing nothing about this aspect of law, I have referred her to a lawyer, but thought I would ask the question here as well.
She owns a rental house. Her last renter accumulated a $2500 city utility bill and skipped town. The city is now threatening action against her and is unwilling to establish any kind of payment plan. They have also turned off the utilities forcing her next renter to vacate, so she lost her source of income. The complicating factor is that the city sat on the bill for almost a year before turning it over to her as the property owner and taking any action. She claims no knowedge of the bill prior to receiving it one year after the fact.
Would her best course of action be to somehow locate the previous renter and sue them? Is that something she could turn over to a lawyer easily?
She owns a rental house. Her last renter accumulated a $2500 city utility bill and skipped town. The city is now threatening action against her and is unwilling to establish any kind of payment plan. They have also turned off the utilities forcing her next renter to vacate, so she lost her source of income. The complicating factor is that the city sat on the bill for almost a year before turning it over to her as the property owner and taking any action. She claims no knowedge of the bill prior to receiving it one year after the fact.
Would her best course of action be to somehow locate the previous renter and sue them? Is that something she could turn over to a lawyer easily?
