Complete Story
12/15/2016
Tenant that never signed
Fletcher Storage Center - Shelia McKinley
What can I do if I have a tenant that never signed their lease and now their unit is behind and needs to go to a lien sale? They will not return my phone calls or answer letters.
3 Comments
Kevin Leebrick on Tuesday 12/20/2016 at 09:00 AM
Shelia,
I'm no lawyer but once they make a single payment on the unit they have entered into an agreement with you. Do you have any paperwork on the tenant?
The other way to look at it is this. They don't have a lease with you and you have no fiduciary to them.
I would still go with the first option as I have heard this from an attorney. Send them a lien letter and carry out the lien sale as appropriate. Should they want their stuff they will come forward for it, otherwise get it cleaned out via auction and get it rented.
Lynn Sykes on Thursday 12/22/2016 at 01:05 PM
Another option is to send them a copy of the lease (return receipt requested) with a letter attached stating that they never signed the lease and to please sign and return. If after 30 days, the lease is not signed and returned, it will go into effect. After 30 days, start the lien process.
This is a procedure we use when we do not have a lease. I think the application will work here as well. I agree with the first response also - that they have been making payments so they understand the agreement.
Kevin Leebrick on Friday 12/23/2016 at 07:38 AM
Excellent process Lynn puts forth. Thanks for jumping in!