Hi,

I’m a new landlord from Maryland and I would love some advice. I have a property and it has been rented to a husband and wife. I’ve communicated more so with the wife, Ashley. Their lease is up the end of April (30th) and they confirmed in February they are moving out as planned and would be handing over the keys when they move out the end of April. I don’t know anything else about their personal lives. Today, I got this text from the husband, Dan.

“Good morning this is Dan. Sorry to drag you into this, Ashley informed me yesterday that I no longer have til the end of the month when the lease is up to get my remaining things out of the house because keys were being turned in and you were changing the locks. Is this true if so how much time do I have to get my things. Once again I apologize to bother you on Easter with this mess.”

I'm missing something...it appears his wife has been telling him that you are changing the locks NOW? Seems he has until April 30th right?

So take my response with a grain of salt until I understand exactly what he's thinking, but here are some key points.

1) I would communicate to ALL parties when you respond, not just to him. Don't hit "reply", but rather start a new email and say something like...

"Ashley, per our discussion, the move-out date is April 30th and you agree to turn in keys at that time. Attached is a move-out process form that will help you prepare the house to turn back over to us."

If you respond to only one of the two of them, you're going to get into trouble. If one of them asks you to ONLY communicate to them, tell them they are both tenants, both on the lease, and all communications will go to both.

2) Do NOT get involved in their personal situation.

3) If Ashley wants you to change the locks now so he cannot come in, tell her that you are prevented by law from locking out a tenant without a formal court order.

4) Hopefully you have a clause in your lease about how you'll handle the security deposit return. For example, he might say "send it to me" and she will want it sent to her. Our lease clearly states that it will be sent to the first person listed on the lease. I would not spit it and send half to each...but you'll have to see what your lease says.

Hope this turns out ok...sounds like it might get messy. Just remember, they are BOTH tenants and you need to treat them as if they both have tenant's rights until a court tells you otherwise.

I'm guessing that she might be trying to pull the "Oh, he moved out a month ago... I have no clue where to find him... just make the security deposit refund check out to me, okay?"

So, I'd probably respond with something cheery and clueless, but if that is indeed the case, it would give him the information to see what's up. Depending on how daring I felt, I might respond to his text/email individually, or I might cc both of them in the same response.

"Hi! When you paid your April rent, that covered the period from April 1-April 30th. I'll take possession and change the locks on May 1st. Please find your move-out checklist enclosed. When you have your new address, let me know where you would like me to send your SD accounting. If you're not comfortable sharing that information with me, then it will be sent to your current address, so please make sure you have mail forwarding set up. The SD accounting and refund will be sent to you within 30 days, but the tidier things are, the faster it goes back. It will be made out to both of you, so both of you will need to sign it in order to cash it. Thanks for being so great. Good luck with your path."

This is a tough one. Since I've been a landlord going on 43 years now, I've seen this same situation happen. Before you contact the Husband, you said that you mainly dealt with the wife. I would call he up FIRST and ask her what's really going on, since her husband left you a message. I would NOT TELL HER what HER HUSBAND TOLD YOU.

Under the law if there was spousal abuse, the wife would have curtain protections, but this isn't your business.

If the wife's excuse is GOOD or BAD, I would let her know to please keep you out of the situation and deal with her husband directly.

Many times when a wife leaves a husband they get paralyzed, quit a jot and never pay rent again. So maybe she is doing you a favor and making sure her husband get's out?

The I would contact the husband a leave a text'ed message, to deal with his wife directly.

If push comes to shove, You could mention they have to be out before the end of the month, or pay next months rent in FULL!

Monica,

Sounds like she may already be gone. People don’t usually stay until the last day esp if they broke up.

First, read your lease so you know how it applies to this situation.

Next, LL Rule #5 Don’t let their problems become your problem.

Rule #6 Stay strong and stick to the lease. They may hit you with emotional pleas. Answer with clauses from the lease.

Locks: Joint and Severally means one person speaks for all. Law says if one resident asks for the locks to be changed you must change them.

Advice from experience: when a woman asks for locks to be changed she is often afraid for her safety, assume physical abuse and be ultra safe. Mine was murdered by her husband after we changed her lock, when she gave him the key because they “made up”.

Just communicate by email from now on. Send a copy to both tenants so everyone is on the same page. Return the deposit by putting both names on the check. Let them figure out how to split it. You've met your obligations.

Brad, I'm confused about your comment that if one person requests the locks changed, then you have to change them. You say that's the law.

I had a similar instance and went to my attorney. He said that I could not lock out one tenant on the lease unless I had a court order to do so. I sent an email to the wife and said that once she sent me the court order, I'd change them....she never responded and they eventually "got back together".

Thank you for all of your advice.

I received a text from her officially sharing that their move out date would be next week. She continued to speak with “we” for the both of them.

Oh, and to address one of the comments- all of the names were changed to protect everyone, including mine! Lol.

The neighbors texted me and said no one lives there. They both have already moved out. She plans to have the place professionally cleaned on Monday.

I sent both of them an email asking for the new address to send the security deposit, and she replied to all (including the husband) with her address. I also restated how I got an officially communication that they were requesting their move our date. I did this so both of them were in the loop and I asked if either of them had concern to reach out. I’ve heard nothing.

I’m taking this as an opportunity to gain possession of the house early, make any repairs, and get the house ready for the next tenants.

I appreciate your support, everyone! Thanks!