I have a mother and daughter that moved into a two bedroom apartment in June and things seem to have been going well for a bit but now they aren’t. The daughter called me and said she was moving out because her mother was abusive she was this she was that, yada yada. I told her she could do whatever she wanted to do but she still needed to pay the rent.

She did move out and has been paying the rent every month. The mother calls me and gives me all this stuff about her daughter, yada yada. I told them both don’t involve me in your drama.

The daughter called me yesterday and told me she was hiring a U-Haul to get all of her stuff out of the apartment, I said fine do what you have to do but you’re still on the hook for the rent, she says I know.

Daughter calls me this morning and said that her mom would not relinquish several things that were hers, I said it’s not my problem, it’s a civil matter do what you need to do. Daughter calls the police and the police come and tell her that they can’t dictate who gets what.

Daughter calls me again a few hours later and says “the police confiscated my keys“. I said to her they should not have done that as you are still a paying tenant and as long as you are paying rent and you have the keys you are legally able to go in and out of the apartment.

I called the police department because I know there’s probably more to the story and the officer told me that he said to the daughter “so, you are taking all of your stuff out and you are no longer living in this apartment correct? This means that you no longer have occupancy so we will need to confiscate your keys.” I did not know that the police could do this. When I talked to the officer, he told me that it was a civil matter however, because she was no longer living there, that she could not keep the keys.

I don’t think this is legal and I don’t want to get involved, but I’m the only one that can pick up the keys at the police department. So, does the daughter still have the right to have the keys in her possession even though she doesn’t live there? As long as she pays the rent she is legally on the lease and a legal tenant. The officer told me that since he confiscated the keys, if the daughter decided to go into the apartment, they would arrest her for breaking and entering.

What a fiasco! I feel like getting rid of both of them however, if they both continue to pay rent and there’s no drama, then I’m fine until the lease ends in May however, if this drama continues they will both get a notice for eviction.

Sounds like the daughter needs to get a courtesy consult with a landlord/tenant lawyer who actually knows the rules. Most of these lawyers will give a short free consult, at least around here they will. This may keep you out of the argument and possibly keep you from some kind of lawsuit.

So,I just went to the police station to pick up the keys”. The officer who is there told me that he does not have the keys, that he gave the keys to the mother. The daughter now knows that the mother has the keys and the mother also got a restraining order against the daughter so the daughter cannot ever go back to the apartment.

I told the daughter that I am getting deeper into this and I want to and that she needs to consult a landlord attorney to find out exactly what her rights are and if the police did indeed have the right to take her keys.

The daughter promptly told me that she will not be paying rent any longer since she does not have keys and is no longer living there. I told her that’s not wise and I said, do not make me get a lawyer and evict you and your mother. I will also take you to court for lawyers fees, you do not want this on your record so think about this and try to resolve it with your mother.

Plenty, yes I understand. I wanted the daughter to know what the consequences would be. It’s up to her. If she fails to pay rent I will definitely file. It sounds like her and her mother need to smooth things out but I don’t want to get in the middle of it.

However they figure things out.

I told my latest evictee that I was trying to help her out by not stating why I was booting her to the court. I just did non-renewal. Tried to explain that she needed to have everything paid before the damages hearing so it didn't get posted for other landlords to see.

Her reply was she didn't care and didn't know why I cared about what happened to her. Can't reason with people. Her new BF has got her all twisted. Was a great tenant up to the time she latched onto him.

Jo,

If I understand your post neither are living in the home.

Text each of them “Are you out of the house? Please respond YES or NO.

If both reply YES, I would change the locks (3 seconds with iCore locks!) and re-rent.

If not, negotiate something with them.

Also, if ONE leases asks you to change the locks you must comply, thus making the removed keys unimportant.

I think the police officer was totally out of line. He has no authority over possession and civil matters. MY guess is he had dealt with them before and was trying a creative solution.

BUT

NEVER argue with the police. It never ends well. They are trained to never back down. He will have to retaliate if you press the issue.

AND you really don’t need the keys - you changed the locks.

I would not even ask for the keys. Just quietly move on.

Brad, Hoosier, The mother is still in the apartment. The daughter moved out two months ago because she and her mom don’t get along however she left a lot of her things behind and moved in with a friend.

The daughter was still paying rent even though she was not living in the apartment. She just went back yesterday to get her things and that’s where the conflict arose. She called the cops because the mother would not give her some of her things back and I know that it’s a civil matter.

The daughter did get most of her things out but that’s where the key incident happened. So, at this point the mom is still in the apartment and wants to stay but might not be able to afford the full rent on her own so I have to wait to see what happens in October if the daughter continues to pay the rent.