In this case we had a tenant who stayed in a studio apartment for four years.

He is 'slow'- this is the description given to me by his family. I honestly do not know what this means, but his sister handles his money and pays his rent. Always on time, and early. He works at a restaurant as a janitor and has steady income and causes no trouble. So its been a successful rent.

This year at lease end he and his family decided it was time for him to upgrade to an apartment with a bedroom and they announced he was leaving. And they meant it. However at the same time, our one bedroom right next door went vacant too- the tenant bolted mid lease apparently not having rent. So I was faced with two vacancies at once, in a 3 apartment building. On top of that, I was having major car issues. For someone with not very many units, this could not be a worse situation.

After working over at the 1 bedroom a couple weeks renovating and cleaning up, Slow Guy we will call him knocks on the door and says he'd like to rent the 1 bedroom. I say is $100 more a month which it was- he was already getting a really low undermarket rent rate for the studio. He agrees. I talk to his family, and was confident that he could pay. So, he signs new lease, moves next door, and I brought 2 vacancies down to 1 at least.

But now I have a 2nd apartment to renovate all over again. This can be costly as you know, and I was now without rent there, as well as considerable car bills.

Now here's the question, and it has to do with Slow Guys deposit on his studio.

Unfortunately, he had a problem peeing and not making the toilet. This burned and ruined the floor and parts of the walls. What is more he somehow (I can't fathom how) encrusted the toilet with lime. It makes no sense as the other toilets same water system are fine. So although the apartment was left relatively clean, I was forced to completely redo the bathroom. This has taken two weeks of labor so far, and I have every expectation it will take another two weeks of interviewing and back checking to find a low risk tenant for the apartment and get them to sign. But it was mostly labor, and a LOT of labor.

So its a month's rent loss to move him from apartment A to B, at a very bad time, even if all my work repairing and cleaning was free. I also have massive tax and insurance bills coming.

But for the first time ever however, I'm faced with sending a deposit statement to a tenant who is not only still actively renting, but right next door.

I NEED to apply his deposit to cover this loss in a way that is not going to offend his family or cause issue.

Note: The deposit he paid four years ago was only $429. I know you may think this is low, but it is a studio in not the most sought after neighborhood location. Its not a high crime neighborhood, but its on the side of town most people consider the "wrong side of the tracks".... albeit just over them.

How would you handle his deposit letter?

Mainly following to learn, however, slow guy isn't so slow. I was thinking, "why don't you rent the vacant 1 bedroom to the guy who is looking for one?"

On the other hand, you might should an in-home visit to his current residence to see how your other one would be treated. This would have been very easy to do in this situation.

My guess is, you might want to plan on having to renovate the bathroom in the 1br unit when it is vacant again.

Maybe, if you charge adequately for the damages done to the studio, the bathroom will be safer in the 1br, as a lesson might be learned.

Others have already given good advice, so I won't repeat it.

Another important thing to point out:

It sounds like (I hope NOT!) you may have let him move to the new apartment without paying a new security deposit.

If this is true, then you have NO security for the new place.

You can only "hope" he will be willing to give you a security deposit after-the-fact.

If he does not, what is your recourse?

I think you should try to connect the old $$ to the new, via a carefully worded document stating how his (singular) account with you has a balance due of $XX.xx.

Going forward - you or anyone else considering this - I am not against moving a good tenant from one unit to another. BUT, it must be done correctly - I would say that is as two completely separate transactions, thoroughly explained in excruciating detail so that there is NO misunderstanding.

Transaction 1) Normal move-in procedure to the new unit, including deposit, pre-paid rent, inspection & documentation of condition, etc. Also do a new application to "update information in the tenant's file". You need updated income & criminal info, as well as confirm contact info, emergency contacts - everything. Personally, I would not charge for this application.

Transaction 2) Normal move-out procedure from the old unit, complete with inspection AFTER it is returned to you, photos, security accounting, etc. All as it would be done if he were moving away.

The only way I would connect the two transactions is to state clearly in the new lease that all money owed due to the previous residence will be due immediately (by the next rent payment date)- like it would normally be for the repair of current damages. If not paid, they would be in default on the new lease.

Did you get a seperate deposit when he rented the 1 BR? If so, treat these as two seperate leases. You have to give an accounting of the deposit on the studio lease within the state required timeframe (mine is 30 days). Charge out the damage but not normal wear and tear and charge it against the deposit for the studio. You do need to be careful what you charge though, pee stains could be considered normal wear and tear by tenant leaning judges.

You have collected rent for 4 months and just now you are realizing that this person isn't taking that good of care on the place?

Enough people have chimed in on what you should do with regards to the SD of the old place.

I have a slightly different look at it. Although it costs more up front maybe you should look into making the place a little more tenant proof.

Put some LVP down in the bathroom. Silicone along the walls to make it a little more moisture proof. In a few of my places I have put subway tile up the walls a bit to assist with cleaning. Maybe do that behind the toilet. They are cheap and pretty easy to install. Just make sure that you get the grout lines sealed well.

As for the build up in the stool I have had this happen on a few occasions with male tenants. One I know for sure is on meds that change his urine enough that it looks like scale in the stool. It doesn't help when they are not flushing between uses. (If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down is horrible advice) Once it is that far the only recourse is to replace it. I have tried things to no avail. Maybe muriatic acid would do it, but if your pipes are old and brittle I would not go there.

Duplexer,

Just stick to the lease and charge for the tenant caused damage. Damage is damage not matter who did it. Treat him like any other renter. The family knows.

My lease says $75 per hour.

Urine contains calcium (lime) which can build up even from normal use. Lime Away or muriatic acid.

Your prices sound low - only $100 more over a studio?

Tough love - DIY is costing you more in lost rents than hiring.

We like to put fiberglass panels (my guy calls them bumpy board) behind toilets, about 3-4 feet high. Easy to install, looks sharp, protects the wall, and cleans easily.

Stay strong!

FRP is a good idea. Especially if you take it wall to wall or wall to surround.