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Landlord Sues Dead Tenant For Unpaid Rent
A difficult scenario arises when a renter passes away. There are many details to consider, including potential legal repercussions and security issues such as if the tenant duplicated the keys. Contrary to what most of us would think, the issue is far more nuanced.
Additionally, landlords usually have the right to receive any remaining rent from the estate of the deceased, at least in the United States.
However, this landlord’s situation is a little murky because, according to what’s been heard, his now-deceased renter only had a holiday rental agreement that lasted for many months.
He intends to file a lawsuit to recover the money he believes he is entitled to—not the numerous months’ worth of rent he would have received had the guy survived, but a pitiful amount that would probably have no impact on his business but give his bereaved family a great deal of grief.
For the rent that accumulated while the tenant’s death was being looked into by the police, the landlord wanted to sue the tenant’s family. In a since-deleted Reddit post, the landlord detailed his predicament in a way that many others found remarkably self-absorption.
According to what he wrote, his renter died and wasn’t discovered for two days until his family called to ask him to see how he was doing.
He said, “I’m in my 20s, and this was quite a harrowing experience to find someone passed away,” as if to explain his preparations for handling the situation. He continued by explaining that although the man usually paid the rent in full “without fail,” their loose and informal arrangement sometimes caused him to be a day or two late. This indicated that by the time the man’s death was discovered, the rent was already six days overdue.
He seeks compensation for these six days “plus the daily rent while the apartment was locked up with the personal belongings left inside… in case it was found to be a suspicious death and police would need to re-enter.”
Lastly, he demands his money back. According to him, the man’s bed “was covered in blood and bodily fluid,” necessitating a professional decontamination of the property. He had to hire a biohazard business for £480 plus taxes to remove the bed. People were horrified that, considering the man’s horrific death, the landlord was suing his family for more than $1500.
“I know this is incredibly morbid,” said the landlord, “but I’m going to be a minimum of £1200 down, and as a business, I must take the personal element out of this and look to recover the costs while respecting the family during this time.”
However, many people felt that suing a family who is mourning what sounds like a suicide for roughly $1500 was pretty much unjust.
Also Read: Landlord Sues Twitter For ‘Unpaid Rent’ In London Office
“Over £1000? Really?” one fellow Redditor wrote. A man on X was far more blunt. “In case you’d gone soft on landlords,” he wrote, “here’s one asking how he can make a dead man’s family pay for cleaning the mattress his corpse rotted into, as well as rent his corpse rudely fell behind with.”
He added, “that the first response is ‘how can I make this corpse pay’ is just beyond humanity,” which pretty much sums it up. “It’s not personal, it’s business” is nothing new, of course, but as another X user pointed out, situations like this are literally what insurance is for.
It’s better to make a claim, show compassion, and give the man’s family some space. They’ve endured enough; you could find yourself in their position at some point.
Gentle Reminder: Be careful how you use your authority and influence, be wise, and treat others with respect.
Chychy Jonas
