new tenant did not get the utilities changed, stealing power

AZ > my new tenant first rent check bounced she did not get the utilities changed into her name she was stealing power now had the power turned on in someone elses name. I told her to please just take her check back and moved out. she says she is not going anywhere. I am a senoir citizen and this is making me sick. when her check bounced is that breaking the lease?

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered AZ > my new tenant first rent check bounced she did not get the utilities changed into her name she was stealing power now had the power turned on in someone elses name. I told her to please just take her check back and moved out. she says she is not going anywhere. I am a senoir citizen and this is making me sick. when her check bounced is that breaking the lease?

Yes she has. The rental agreement trades the rental unit for payment of rent - when the check bounced, the rent remained unpaid.

Give tenant a 5-day notice to pay or quit IMMEDIATELY. After 5 days, if tenant has not made good on their rent, then you can file for eviction. Be sure that you tell the tenant that this and any future rent payment must be in the form cash or cashier's check to ensure no further dishonored checks are submitted.

I sure hope you received a good funds deposit from these people. In the future, you need to run a background check on the potential tenant and collect deposits and first month's rent in the form of cash or cashier's check to prevent this from happening again.

You can evict her on the grounds of breaking the lease by paying with a bad check. You can also sue her for the amount of the bounced checks plus the lease amount.

She is incorrect in her assertions.

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What you need to do immediately is to serve her with a 5 day Pay or Quit notice. You should be able to find one on your clerk of court's website. Fill it out and hand it to the tenant. Keep a copy of it and have a witness see you hand it to her. If she doesn't pay in full by the end of those 5 days, go to the clerk of court and file to evict. Do not accept partial rent payments or you may be unable to evict.

When she moves out, subtract the rent owed from her deposit, along with whatever late fees or NSF (bad check fees) stated in your agreement. Mail anything that is left with this statement to her forwarding address or to you rental address if she leaves no forwarding. Keep a copy. If the statement comes back, file it away unopened to prove you sent the proper notice.

Also, turn that bad check over to your city's prosecutor or police department.