Bad check/eviction?

[truckerswife]

I know this sounds very bad, and for the record it was not intentional. We found an apartment that we really like. We moved in on the 18th of this month. At that time we signed the lease and wrote a check for the deposit. In the confusion of moving and not having my computer to track expenses for the week...I screwed up our checking account. Yesterday I found a note on the door stating that our check had been returned and to pay with money order or cashiers check as soon as possible. Today there was a letter requesting us to leave the property by November 1st or they were going to start eviction. Can they do that? I mean I know that the whole thing started because I messed up but I didn't see anywhere in the lease that returned check meant eviction. I saw a $45 return fee and a $25 late fee and $5 late fee for each day after the first 3. Are they going to evict us or is this just so they have the option? We were going to get a money order Saturday morning to cover the check and fees and the other $200 non refundable pet deposit(that was due on Nov 1). We even put our own appliances in here. I am really worried. Please advise.

[justbroke]

(For full disclosure... I am a landlord and would have done the same thing to you.)

First, do not worry and do not panic. Unless you're in a very unfriendly tenant State (unlikely), your lease is your protection!

There are certain things a landlord must do in order to evict someone. First, that's being very very diligent about providing notices and demands. One such demand is the good old fashioned Quit/Vacate notice. This usually gives a tenant so much time to vacate the premises or cure a default.

I don't have your lease in front of me, but there is no way you can be evicted in 2 weeks (technically), and especially without seeing a judge to have it adjudicated.

Contact the landlord and inform them that you will cure the default before the first of the month in cash or certified funds. Then, don't do that again. You'll probably need to have certified funds for the duration of the lease. Your lease may also not be renewed, so you want to stay on good terms and pay on time all the time. It's all about risk for the landlord.

If a tenant of mine was 2 days late, I'd send a notice of intent to evict and a Quit/Vacate notice myself. In order to move quickly to get people out, a landlord must be forceful. It can take 30-60 days to get a non-paying person out of a property (legally).

Don't worry. Contact them... and let them know the payment is coming... AND MAKE THE PAYMENT IMMEDIATELY to cure the default. You need to get this done on FRIDAY OCTOBER 31st at best. You do not want to enter into another RENTAL period as you'd probably owe the month that bounced AND the amount due for NOVEMBER in order to cure.

Check your lease.

[truckerswife]

justbroke, thanks for the help. I sent a email to the manager, since the office is now closed. I will go see her in the morning. Our first rent payment is not due until Nov 18th (prorated) because the first month was free (we signed a 13 month lease). I am really ashamed about all of this. We were supposed to be starting over and doing things right and I messed it up already... Hopefully she will work with us.

[justbroke]

Excellent. You really have nothing to worry about, because I don't believe you can technically be evicted over a deposit. (Your State laws may vary.)

In any event, they are just protecting themselves by demanding that you cure the default. Since your next lease payment (and pro-rated at that) is not until November 18th, I'd try to make the payment to cure on or before the 1st, just to stay on good terms and especially since your non-refundable pet deposit is due at that time.

You should be fine. Come back and let us know how it went. Even if it goes bad, you have a legal defense. In almost all States, the right to cure a default is a valid defense to eviction. I'm sure the landlord would not proceed any further upon satisfaction of the bad deposit and any fees that have accrued since then.

One thing you may want to look out for, is that the "free month" is not considered an "entitlement" but is a performance credit. If you don't perform under the lease, then they can rescind the "free month" offer. usually this is spelled out in a Rider to your lease. The "Free Month" Rider will usually state the terms and conditions under which the free month is granted.

For example, most "free month" riders will state that failure to complete the lease term voids the rider... therefore you owe the amount equvalent to the "free month". Make sure that your rider doesn't include a "default" provision.

Work with the office, make promises never to do it again, and don't get on their bad side. They have remedies, like rescinding their "free month" credit.

[relief13035]

I'm a landlord too. You are doing the right thing by going to talk to them immediately.

[truckerswife]

Thanks guys! We paid it Saturday morning by cashiers check and all is fine. Apartment manager told me not to be upset about it. She told me that she didn't want to even leave the notice but that the managers all have the same rules that they have to follow at their complexes. We have to pay by money order or cashiers check for 6 months. I told my husband we will probably just keep doing that (my credit union gives free cashier checks) then we will not have any possibility of messing it up again. Anyway, thanks again.

[JRScott]

Glad its worked out for you

[justbroke]

Very nice to hear. See... nothing to worry about.