Death of a Tenant

Unfortunately, my tenant passed away recently. We had a good relationship for the duration of stay and the tenant will be greatly missed. I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of landlord rights in this circumstance. The tenant had a lease that would have expired on the last day of next April. I have no intention of making life any harder for the family nor do I want to be greedy. I am just hoping to be made aware of my rights as a landlord going forward.

borderline

in Landlord 10 years and 9 months ago

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mysteriousbrunette | 10 years and 9 months ago

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PS – I am also a property owner.

mysteriousbrunette | 10 years and 9 months ago

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a tenant passed away. this is not the time to get technical. let the family remove all the belongings themselves. they have enough going on with the death of a loved one. Under these sensitive conditions the landlord should look for a new tenant not the family. If a months rent is owed so what. also give back the tenants security to the executor or the trustee. ya wanna be mensch dontcha?

concord | 10 years and 9 months ago

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Sad to hear. What is your concern? Do you want to; 1: terminate lease or 2: continue lease 1\. If the lease is personal to tenant (not a company) then lease terminates at death… 2\. If you want to continue lease…if with a relative or friend (see 1) and you can continue the lease (actually sign a new lease)…if you are hard up for the money then enforce the lease thru probate, etc…

ventilated | 10 years and 9 months ago

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Deal only with executor, trustee, or court-appointed administrator, and only if they provide a notarized copy of their paperwork. Even if one or more survivor is well-known to you, no matter how kind or well-intentioned you think your actions, until someone can provide the necessary paperwork do not allow access or deal with survivors except to determine status of probate. Call your own attorney to better understand your situation.

Arkady | 10 years and 9 months ago

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First thing might be to ask survivors if anyone wants to take over the lease. Then, if no one does, in your position, I’d let them break the lease -w/ the understanding that they’d clear the place out- & rent it a.s.a.p. Depending on how strapped you are, you could use the security deposit to cushion both refurbishment & a cushion until you rent it again.

ventilated | 10 years and 9 months ago

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Your sympathy is clear and laudable. It’s not easy for anyone to vacate an apartment on short notice, especially true when dealing not only with loss and grief, but many unknown and sometimes complicated and unsettled estate issues. It does not sound as if the apartment was rent-regulated, but if it was then succession rights might apply. That aside, the following two links by non-local attorneys will be helpful to understanding your own situation: http://biznik.com/members/james-dibbini/articles/landlords-rights-and-responsibilities-upon-the-death-of-a-legal-tenant http://www.wny-lawyers.com/2010/06/01/if-your-tenant-dies-in-new-york/