Legal information on how to collect back rent on a Broken Rental Lease agreement?

I am a Landlady and have a 1 year Residential Lease Agreement for a house signed by a husband and wife beginning Feb. 1, 2006-2007 for $850/mo.


The tenants informed me they are moving by Sept. 9 and cannot pay any Sept. rent. Notification was given August 28, 2006. In addition to requiring a 30 day notice, tenants owe a past due rent of $750.00 (tenants have paid irregularly and written several NSF checks) plus the 1st of the month's rent due in Sept. of $850.


I have worked with the Tenants throughout the year to make allowances for late payments...they profess to loving the place and don't want to move and I would prefer they stay...but, they cannot or will not pay and how can I recover the back rent without having to hire a lawyer?


Once they move out, by Sept. 9, how can I make sure they remit past payments when they receive their income tax refund in 2007...which they ';said'; they would pay the $750....but cannot pay anything for Sept. payment.Legal information on how to collect back rent on a Broken Rental Lease agreement?
You are going to have to take them to court in order to get a judgment for the monies owed. I hope you know where they work so you can do a wage garnishment, because you are never going to see their tax refund.





Can't you take the $750 out of their security deposit?Legal information on how to collect back rent on a Broken Rental Lease agreement?
Small claims court in your county should handle this for you. I do not know which state you are in, but in Arkansas they have upped the limit to 5000 dollars on elgibility to be heard in small claims.


You pay 25 dollars for the filing fee and then another 10 dollars to have the people served with the summons.


If you win your case the people must turn into the county a detailed list of their assets and you can ask for them to have a lean put on their tax return to be paid to you as part of what is owed to you until the debt is settled.


But you don't hire a lawyer, if you do they will send you to circuit court before a circuit judge to make the decision.


Small claims is informal type of court and I have used it once and was pleased by the outcome and the way it is handled. Many people think that it is play court, but it is not if they do not comply they will be arrested for contempt of court.
Try the links in http://www.freewebs.com/legaladvice/
I can all but guarantee you that they have no intention of paying you anything once they're gone. (I speak from experience).





Assuming that they work, you will have to take it to small claims court and get a judgement against them. Once you get the judgement, you can have their wages garnished. This can be costly and time consuming. I seriously recommend that you speak with an attorney in your area.





Or you can offer them to forgive the whole thing if they leave the place clean and undamaged, and turn in the keys to you by a certain date. This may limit the cost of fixing up the unit and getting it rented quickly. Good luck
You did not list your state, but I looked at previous questions. It appears you live in Texas like me. (Thank God the triple digit heat is over!!!!) In Texas, you can file suit in small claims court, which is usually with the Justice of the Peace. Below I have pasted a link to an SMU article on the Small Claims court process. You should be able to do this without a lawyer.