Tenant death : ezLandlordForms

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Don B

started a topic about 12 years ago

I have a tenant who has died. What should I do to recover my apartment?

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Dawn A

said about 12 years ago

Contact the court official in your area who appoints executors, trustees, and who deals with probate. The court will be trying to contact next of kin, or to locate his will. If he died intestate (without a will), the state may benefit. But before they can, they need to try to find heirs. Only the executor of the estate or the appointed trustee should be accessing the belongings. (If you allow one heir in, how could you know if that is his closest heir, or the one he has left his possessions to?) Ask the court who they are appointing to settle his estate. That estate should be responsible for rent until they clear out his belongings.

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Don B

said about 12 years ago

Thank you very much. This is helpful.

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Bob R

said about 12 years ago

Were relatives notified? Did they remove tenant's belongings or are they still in the unit?

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Patty H

said almost 9 years ago

You can still post 24 hour notice or if no one is there and they were the only tenant on the lease you may enter. Now in most cases the lease does pass to their next of kin. You would need to have a mutual termination of lease or start eviction.

Ai

said over 8 years ago

I am so sorry for your loss. I do believe your sister might qualify for succession rights if the apartment is rent stabilized. To qualify you must be able to prove you are family to the family member who rented the apartment and also that you lived with the prime tenant and used the apartment as your primary residence for a certain period of time. I believe it is two years before the tenant has passed. I would also contact a lawyer and see if there is a way around it. Check out lawyers with free consultations. I am so sorry you are going through this during this rough time. I send condolences and wish you the best of luck.

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Leonard D

said over 8 years ago

If you mean rent to the family, yes that is up to you. The lease will still be in effect until the lease term is up or you find new tenants, whichever comes first so the security deposit and estate will cover any money owed. If you choose to have the family rent you probably will have less to do. Good luck!

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Kathy J

said over 8 years ago

Are the family members on the lease also? You will need some proof that the people asking to get in are the legal heirs or the executor for the estate. You don't want to find yourself the defendant in a law suit because you let random family members raid the estate.

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Scott H

said about 5 years ago

Has the rent been paid for October? Why not see if the roommate wants to sign a lease. If not give the roommate 30 days notice to vacate if he doesn't file for eviction. I would wait a few days, maybe until after the funeral to proceed. but that's up to you.

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Matthew M

said about 5 years ago

Actually, if the roommate is not on the lease, you can have them removed immediately. I would stop by the county sheriffs department and ask them for what you can or cannot do with the tenants belongings. If there is a "in case of emergency" contact info on the tenant application, call them and request to have the personal effects removed as soon as possible.