verbal lease month to month tenant goes to jail

[kellie H]

Jurisdiction

Georgia

I helped a "friend" get out of jail with $1000 loan. He agreed to make Repairs to house in exchange for money owed. Then before doing any he just "moved" in stating was being evicted need somewhere to put his stuff did I have problem doing a month to month..5 weeks go by.. he hasn't done any of work . I meet at home depot bought materials. Gave him money to buy new blinds & handed him a package of new locks . Next day is he arrested Again. I call down to jail Where's my keys etc they tell me who has I contact them they take keys to his mother she waits a month before giving me A KEY. Mean while his so called buddies go in taking his belonging so I post NO TRESPASSING BY ANYONE FOR ANYREASON LOCK HOUSE UP. His mother still going in house removing stuff after said gave me only key is still entering removing his belonging.
I still have NOTgotten ANY money , NO repairs, in fact he added to the problems of house by add tons of trash, busted out front window to run pipe thru so he could use his pot belly stove/heater. He has a house contents in & around entire house. I spent 6 hours picking up to keep code enforcement somewhat off me. His mother has even taken material I purchased. Told me she had taken.
What do I do ?

 

[army judge]

I helped a "friend" get out of jail with $1000 loan. He agreed to make Repairs to house in exchange for money owed. Then before doing any he just "moved" in stating was being evicted need somewhere to put his stuff did I have problem doing a month to month..5 weeks go by.. he hasn't done any of work . I meet at home depot bought materials. Gave him money to buy new blinds & handed him a package of new locks . Next day is he arrested Again. I call down to jail Where's my keys etc they tell me who has I contact them they take keys to his mother she waits a month before giving me A KEY. Mean while his so called buddies go in taking his belonging so I post NO TRESPASSING BY ANYONE FOR ANYREASON LOCK HOUSE UP. His mother still going in house removing stuff after said gave me only key is still entering removing his belonging.
I still have NOTgotten ANY money , NO repairs, in fact he added to the problems of house by add tons of trash, busted out front window to run pipe thru so he could use his pot belly stove/heater. He has a house contents in & around entire house. I spent 6 hours picking up to keep code enforcement somewhat off me. His mother has even taken material I purchased. Told me she had taken.
What do I do ?

The only legal thing you can do if you want this deadbeat booted is to take him to court and have him evicted.

In GA, it's called a dispossessory action.

Read on:


Chapter 6 Landlord Tenant | Council of State Court Judges


Evictions (Georgia)


You can forget going after any money this creep might owe you.
Why?
He'll be a guest of the county for quite awhile I'm guessing.

 

[adjusterjack]

What do I do ?

Change your damned locks, fool.

 

[kellie H]

So I have his family tryin to come his belonging. I have stopped them from getting thing else until I figure out what to do. Can I sell any of his things to recover my money?

I need to get someone to do the work . This is a rental house .
Thank you for you comments .

 

[kellie H]

Change your damned locks, fool.

Really gonna call me names when I have only tried to help someone out. Yes I intend on changing the locks. I am looking for solutions to recover my money not just the loan but the 5 weeks he was there. Can I sell any of his belongings do I let his family just come in get ?? Looking for solutions not be belittled by someone with a little bit more knowledge on how to how people who take advantage of the good hearted. Thank you.

 

[army judge]

You must prove your tenant abandoned the property and left belongings behind.

If you do that in Georgia, an eviction is not required for you to change the locks.


To ESTABLISH AND PROVE abandonment by your tenant of the property, along with belongings left behind, do this:

You start by taking date stamped photographs of rotting food, furniture, the poor condition of the apartment, piled up mail or advertising, send the tenant a letter (RRR) to prove no forwarded mailing address, you can use a copy of the CURRENT front page of a local newspaper in the picture to help prove the date you took the photos.

Taking a picture of the carport, garage, parking area to show his/her car is not present (at varying times, day and night), along with windows day and night to show the house condition never changes.

Also use photos of her furniture to create a record of what's there and not there, as well as to verify the furniture's condition. The photos will be your alibi if she/he later claims you took or damaged something.

Include any other evidence of abandonment, such as any letters, emails or voicemails indicating she won't be back, etc.

Print your photos and keep them in a safe, handy place.

All of this will be useful if you're sued, or he/she gets out if jail and calls the police.


If your tenant has actually abandoned your property, but has left all of their stuff inside, it's often tempting to just throw the items away. However, a landlord faced with this situation can never be certain that the tenant will not come back at a later date and demand that their property be returned to them. In cases like this, it's prudent to handle such property very carefully.

We usually recommend that the landlord take photographs of all of the property and create a detailed list of the property, carefully denoting each item's condition. After this is done, have somebody who would make a good witness oversee the removal of the property from the premises. While disposing of the property would seem to be the most efficient approach at this point, it may be better to store the property in a safe place and send a letter to the tenant letting them know that if the property is not redeemed by a specific date, it will be disposed of. Following these procedures should protect you from liability in situations like these.



LEGAL CONCLUSIONS SUPPORTED BY THE FACTS IN ERFANI v. BISHOP, 553 SE2d 326, 251 Ga. App. 20 (2001).

THIS CASE SUPPORTS THAT:

1. IN VERBAL LEASE AGREEMENTS, THE TENANT MUST GIVE AT LEAST 30 DAYS NOTICE OF INTENT TO
LEAVE. IF LESS NOTICE IS GIVEN, HE IS OBLIGATED TO PAY ANOTHER FULL MONTH'S RENT;

2. A TENANT CAN BE FOUND TO HAVE LEGALLY ABANDONED THE PREMISES BY LEAVING BEFORE THE
LEASE TERM ENDS. (I.E. BEFORE THE TIME HE WAS OBLIGATED TO PAY RENT FOR); (DISREGARD IF
TENANT UP TO DATE WITH RENT AND OTHER BILLS);

3. WHEN THE TENANT ABANDONED THE PREMISES AND WAS LATE ON HIS BILLS OR RENT, THE LANDLORD
WAS JUSTIFIED IN CHANGING THE LOCKS WITHOUT RESORTING TO FILING COURT PAPERS;

4. THE FORMER TENANT BY ENTERING AFTER THE LANDLORD CHANGED THE LOCKS, WAS NOW A
TRESPASSER, WITH NO LEGAL RIGHT TO ENTER WITHOUT THE LANDLORD'S EXPRESS PERMISSION.
TRESPASSER HAD NO RIGHT TO ENTER EVEN WHEN LANDLORD STILL HAD HIS POSSESSIONS.

See also,

The Georgia Court Manual On How State Court Judges Should Decide Various Landlord Tenant Matters
Do a word search within the document for "abandon" (On your keyboard hold down both the ctrl key and letter f). This Manual has the statutes, case law and procedures that judges should follow when deciding landlord tenant cases.

ERFANI v. BISHOP, 553 SE2d 326, 251 Ga. App. 20 (2001)

 

[kellie H]

You must prove your tenant abandoned the property and left belongings behind.

If you do that in Georgia, an eviction is not required for you to change the locks.


To ESTABLISH AND PROVE abandonment by your tenant of the property, along with belongings left behind, do this:

You start by taking date stamped photographs of rotting food, furniture, the poor condition of the apartment, piled up mail or advertising, send the tenant a letter (RRR) to prove no forwarded mailing address, you can use a copy of the CURRENT front page of a local newspaper in the picture to help prove the date you took the photos.

Taking a picture of the carport, garage, parking area to show his/her car is not present (at varying times, day and night), along with windows day and night to show the house condition never changes.

Also use photos of her furniture to create a record of what's there and not there, as well as to verify the furniture's condition. The photos will be your alibi if she/he later claims you took or damaged something.

Include any other evidence of abandonment, such as any letters, emails or voicemails indicating she won't be back, etc.

Print your photos and keep them in a safe, handy place.

All of this will be useful if you're sued, or he/she gets out if jail and calls the police.


If your tenant has actually abandoned your property, but has left all of their stuff inside, it's often tempting to just throw the items away. However, a landlord faced with this situation can never be certain that the tenant will not come back at a later date and demand that their property be returned to them. In cases like this, it's prudent to handle such property very carefully.

We usually recommend that the landlord take photographs of all of the property and create a detailed list of the property, carefully denoting each item's condition. After this is done, have somebody who would make a good witness oversee the removal of the property from the premises. While disposing of the property would seem to be the most efficient approach at this point, it may be better to store the property in a safe place and send a letter to the tenant letting them know that if the property is not redeemed by a specific date, it will be disposed of. Following these procedures should protect you from liability in situations like these.



LEGAL CONCLUSIONS SUPPORTED BY THE FACTS IN ERFANI v. BISHOP, 553 SE2d 326, 251 Ga. App. 20 (2001).

THIS CASE SUPPORTS THAT:

1. IN VERBAL LEASE AGREEMENTS, THE TENANT MUST GIVE AT LEAST 30 DAYS NOTICE OF INTENT TO
LEAVE. IF LESS NOTICE IS GIVEN, HE IS OBLIGATED TO PAY ANOTHER FULL MONTH'S RENT;

2. A TENANT CAN BE FOUND TO HAVE LEGALLY ABANDONED THE PREMISES BY LEAVING BEFORE THE
LEASE TERM ENDS. (I.E. BEFORE THE TIME HE WAS OBLIGATED TO PAY RENT FOR); (DISREGARD IF
TENANT UP TO DATE WITH RENT AND OTHER BILLS);

3. WHEN THE TENANT ABANDONED THE PREMISES AND WAS LATE ON HIS BILLS OR RENT, THE LANDLORD
WAS JUSTIFIED IN CHANGING THE LOCKS WITHOUT RESORTING TO FILING COURT PAPERS;

4. THE FORMER TENANT BY ENTERING AFTER THE LANDLORD CHANGED THE LOCKS, WAS NOW A
TRESPASSER, WITH NO LEGAL RIGHT TO ENTER WITHOUT THE LANDLORD'S EXPRESS PERMISSION.
TRESPASSER HAD NO RIGHT TO ENTER EVEN WHEN LANDLORD STILL HAD HIS POSSESSIONS.

See also,

The Georgia Court Manual On How State Court Judges Should Decide Various Landlord Tenant Matters
Do a word search within the document for "abandon" (On your keyboard hold down both the ctrl key and letter f). This Manual has the statutes, case law and procedures that judges should follow when deciding landlord tenant cases.

ERFANI v. BISHOP, 553 SE2d 326, 251 Ga. App. 20 (2001)

Thank you very much !!!