Tenant died. Are the occupants squatters?

[wolf24]

I have been a landlord for over 20 years. I use a slightly modified version of a standard California lease form. My properties (condos) are not rent-controlled. The lease in question converted to a month-to-month a long time ago. Tenant paid rent (currently $1750/mo; $1500 security deposit) on time for five years. He was the only signatory to the lease (spouse, either divorced or estranged, did not reside with him, but lived nearby; occasionally, his teenage son stayed with him).

I recently learned (from the HOA's pest control company) that the tenant had died rather suddenly (in a hospital), and that during the last several months of his life, his wife (former? still married?) had moved in with him. The lease restricts length of time (consecutive days as well as total time) a guest may reside with the tenant, but I do not know if a former/still-married wife can be deemed a guest. His rent was paid up through two weeks after his death.

The wife and son are still occupying the condo. The last day of the five-day grace period has passed for this month, and the rent is now late (lease allows 5% late fine).

I don't think the wife has any standing if they were divorced or legally separated (how do I find out for sure?). But does she have standing if they were simply estranged? Does the now-18-year-old son, still in high school, have standing (the lease, signed when he was only 13, notes his permission to live with his father)? If the wife or son continue paying rent, how long should I wait to give notice? Is the lease now defunct? Even if they continue to pay rent, I am troubled with having a tenant whose name is not on the lease and for whom I have no information. If I receive a rent payment for this month, my plan is to hold the check until these issues are resolved. This will put a strain on my finances, but it seems like accepting the payment would be tantamount to accepting the tenancy.

On the other hand, if I do not receive rent, what should I do? Immediately begin the eviction process? Serve notice on whom -- Does 1-100? The late tenant's estate? How do I discover who the administrator is?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[LBLL]

I have been a landlord for over 20 years. I use a slightly modified version of a standard California lease form. My properties (condos) are not rent-controlled. The lease in question converted to a month-to-month a long time ago. Tenant paid rent (currently $1750/mo; $1500 security deposit) on time for five years. He was the only signatory to the lease (spouse, either divorced or estranged, did not reside with him, but lived nearby; occasionally, his teenage son stayed with him).

I recently learned (from the HOA's pest control company) that the tenant had died rather suddenly (in a hospital), and that during the last several months of his life, his wife (former? still married?) had moved in with him. The lease restricts length of time (consecutive days as well as total time) a guest may reside with the tenant, but I do not know if a former/still-married wife can be deemed a guest. His rent was paid up through two weeks after his death.

The x-wife or what ever she is or is not to your deceased tenant matters not to you. She is not a tenant of yours.
She does not have the right to stay in your condo. Nor does the son really. This is the kind of thing that can happen when you don't pay attention to your rental property expecting them to run themselves.
The wife does not have any say so since she is basically a illegal tenant. However this situation could be construed as she has established tenancy in the condo and therefore you will have to evict her and the son since they have been living there for so long. The fact that rent is due and has not been paid is a good thing in a way. Getting tenants out of your property is made very easy when no rent payment has been made.

I suggest you hire a eviction lawyer straight away and have them handle this situation for you.

The wife and son are still occupying the condo. The last day of the five-day grace period has passed for this month, and the rent is now late (lease allows 5% late fine).

I don't think the wife has any standing if they were divorced or legally separated (how do I find out for sure?). But does she have standing if they were simply estranged? Does the now-18-year-old son, still in high school, have standing (the lease, signed when he was only 13, notes his permission to live with his father)? If the wife or son continue paying rent, how long should I wait to give notice?

Is the lease now defunct? Even if they continue to pay rent, I am troubled with having a tenant whose name is not on the lease and for whom I have no information. If I receive a rent payment for this month, my plan is to hold the check until these issues are resolved. This will put a strain on my finances, but it seems like accepting the payment would be tantamount to accepting the tenancy.

On the other hand, if I do not receive rent, what should I do? Immediately begin the eviction process? Serve notice on whom -- Does 1-100? The late tenant's estate? How do I discover who the administrator is?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

The lease is still in place. You still have a security deposit on file you need to account for. What should of happened is when then your tenant went to the hospital and he died there. His condo should of been locked up with his possessions inside until someone came forward with the proper documents from the probate court. Naming them as the executor of his estate.

Since this did not happen. Your best and really the only move I would make if in your position is to contact a eviction lawyer first thing on monday morning and follow their instructions to the letter.

What will probably happen is that your lawyer will issue a 3 day notice to pay rent or quit the property to the deceased tenant and "All Others" or "Et all" or some like verbiage residing at the address.

If the female or the son are the named executor in a will if there is one. They still have to petition to the probate court submitting the will and be granted that position by the probate judge. They cannot claim they are the executor because they want to.

The bottom line is they have no business in your condo.

Although you don't have any rights to go through the deceased tenants possessions either. You must box them up and store them for a certain amount of time. Your lawyer will fill you in. I'm just hoping that a lawyer will take this case. As many times they run the other way.

Good luck to you.

 

[wolf24]

I suggest you hire a eviction lawyer straight away and have them handle this situation for you.

Thanks for all this, Bill. I already have a relationship with a big California eviction firm and will be contacting them tomorrow (Monday), just like you suggested.

Two small points:

I didn't ignore my property or my tenant. He was a very responsible man who paid early and never caused any problems, but he guarded his privacy, and I respected that. He was in construction, so he occasionally made repairs and billed us for materials (with receipts). Compared to a few bad apples I've had to deal with, this tenant was a dream.

I would generally agree that these two people have no right to be living in my property, however, think about this hypothetical situation: You rent to a husband and wife; they are both named as occupants of the property; the husband's signature is on the rental contract. Some of the rent checks come from the husband's bank account, some from the wife's. Six months into the tenancy, the wife disappears (maybe you don't even know she's gone). The husband keeps paying the rent. Another six months pass, the husband is killed suddenly, and the wife returns and continues to pay the rent. How is this different from my situation? The only difference I can see is that the woman in my condo was not named as a co-occupant on the lease (only the son was). But in California, spouses share all financial responsibilities -- his debts are hers. What I'm still shaky about is: Are his contractual responsibilities also hers?

Wolf24