eviction and homeless prevention program

[april8]

Hello all. We have a tenant that has asked us to give him an 14 day eviction notice. He has always paid rent on time, but apparently needs it to be eligabal for the eviction and homeless prevention program. I called the U.I. office to confirm he needed one and he does.
The problem is this program is for people who are being evicted or behind in rent and he is neither. So is it right that we give one to him? If we don`t give one to him will he just stop paying rent untill we do?
Any advice at all would be great.
thanks

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Wow, little sister. In my opinion it`s not really ethical but you`re right, he`ll probably just quit paying rent and force you to do it. Hopefully someone else with give you their .02`s worth.

 

[SamEfford]

It seems like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Is this tenant merely trying to get out of lease by having you evict him? Or is he trying to take advantage of a program meant to help those in need?

If I were in your situation, I would not evict until you are within a legal position to evict. Hopefully the lease is up soon as well!

 

[chargerharry]

No, absolutely not!!! This is just another example of someone trying to take advantage of the Nanny state. Remember, what he is really asking is for your tax dollars to support him. He is also asking you to do something that is somewhat fraudulent. Just tell him you are not comfortable doing this for him. You may also wish to check with landlord/tenant for their opinion if he does decide to go sideways on you. I understand you may wish to tread lightly since he has posession of your rather expensive asset, but this is just an abuse of a program designed for people who really need it and can`t get it because someone like your tenant is taking advantage of the system.
Harry

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Ya, April, I agree with the above. It`s completely unethical. Just tell him it`s illegal and unethical and leave it at that.

 

[cberezowski]

The case workers who manage this program are doing their own due diligence and may call you to confirm details of the eviction notice.

I had a tenant who received money through this program to pay me rent owed. They did not pay me the rent so I evicted them. Then I got a call from their case worker who told me they had gotten the rent money so I told her I did not get paid and had kicked them out. She was going to track them down and investigate them for fraud. Then I received a follow-up call from a different case worker asking more questions to see if I had indeed evicted the tenants. They almost implied that I was `in` on the scam... I can imagine what that would have done for my business being caught in a scam to defraud the government homeless and eviction prevention program!!

Keep it honest...

 

[RebeccaBryan]

Hi all, April`s computer is slow so I read her all these replies on the telephone. It`s what she had already decided in her head anyway. She tells me there`s another little glitch to this situation. Her tenant that has asked her to do this just had his leg amputated from having Cancer. I wonder maybe if someone knows of another route this tenant might take to get some help? He`s obviously in a situation.

 

[grantala]

Yes,

indeed a `emotional` side to the story.

The ethics still stand in this case - if she wants to help him, she could put some time into looking at what sort of programs they have.

 

[SamEfford]

It is very unfortunate to have lost their leg to cancer. Cancer is a horrible disease that affects my family to this day. My mother-in-law is dying from cancer and only has a few months to live. However she is still taking responsibility for her financial obligations.

Is there another option for this person? Do you have a unit that can be rented for less to help him out financially?

 

[HeatherBrandt]

Rebecca,

Tell your sister to tell her tenant to contact the Alberta Cancer Board (Cross Cancer Institute or where ever he had treatment or ask his doctor). They have social workers who help refer patients to whatever services they need to access. They can pay some bills (I think usually up to $500)on behalf of the patient if the patient doesn`t have the means. The social worker can also help get them set up with medical coverage or social assistance (ie-helps the tenant save on other expenses so they can afford rent).

Hope this helps.

Heather Brandt

 

[GrahamWhite]

I will bend over backwards to help my tenants - on one condition: They need to demonstrate they`re doing everything possible on their end to improve their situation. That includes swallowing their pride and asking their family, friends, government agencies and community & church groups for help.

Why is the landlord always the first one to be hit up for money? I`m already doing my part by risking a quarter million dollar asset with an individual who has little legal or financial responsibilities for where they live, yet all the benefits.


I have a tenant whose rent is being paid by welfare. They have three elementary age school children and the husband is disabled to some degree. The property backs onto an elementary school grounds and I thought this arrangement could help out a lot.

They do handywork (don`t know the quality yet) but now their vehicle has been in an accident so they can`t work at all. He says he`s talking to his father-in-law about a loan for a Dodge Durango. I`ve offered him my older minivan that I`ve been using for renos if he does $1200 worth of work together with me ($30/hr x 40 hours).

We`ll see what happens. I`m betting he`ll sit and wait and hope his father-in-law gets him the Durango. Experience has taught me to expect little of people in tough circumstances. I`ll take a risk with a couple of my units when good kids are involved, but I`ll evict a family if the parents aren`t stepping up to do their part and rent isn`t paid or the property isn`t being looked after.

Any bets on whether he`ll step up and do the work or whether the accident will become one more excuse about how unfair life has been?

 

[bb2]

I had a tenant recently ask me to do the same thing. I refused - it is unethical. I have had a number of tenants use this service, which by the way, is really helping a lot of people. Unfortuneately it is being abused. Most of my tenants that have used it are just buying time.
Brenda Bastell

 

[MONEY]

Here is an interesting article of a cancer victim and a generous landlord:
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/story/335944.html

 

[lucyb]

QUOTE (SamEfford @ Apr 8 2008, 11:55 AM) It is very unfortunate to have lost their leg to cancer. Cancer is a horrible disease that affects my family to this day. My mother-in-law is dying from cancer and only has a few months to live. However she is still taking responsibility for her financial obligations.

Is there another option for this person? Do you have a unit that can be rented for less to help him out financially?


I want to take a moment to reply to the sub-context in this discussion, as I have some experience in this area. I`m very sorry to hear about your mother-in -law`s health, and about the gentleman with the amputated leg. A friend of mine, a former pilot and flight instructor for the US Army, was dying from a very serious cancer that had mestastasized (spread) throughout his body, he was given three months to live. He started looking for solutions. He found one and recovered--it took time to get well, but he has been well for 30 years now. In the process, to my surprise, I met many other recovered "incurables". You may want to go online and look at www.gerson.org and watch the videos there. Support and healing information is on the site, as well as a contact number for questions. I sincerely hope this may help.

Lucy Becker