charging for rent due, eviction fees and lost day of work.

[Cindy W]

Jurisdiction

New Jersey

I am the Landlord of a small single family home, I have many questions.

I had to evict a tenant for non-pay of rent and suing for money owed and for eviction fees.
Can I also charge her for lost day of work? I had to take a day off of work for the court date which she did not show.

Also in this case the lease is expired but in the lease I have tenant hold over, can I charge for days she had possession up to the day of warrant of removal? I never received a notice that she left earlier.

I read in another post that photos are not good enough to hold up in court, is this true?
I have pictures of freshly painted rooms before they moved in and after, the walls in bedroom are so filthy I have to have it repainted. they occupied the home for 14 months and I feel its beyond normal wear and tear, she used the walls like a tack board too. I got professional estimate for the painting.

The yard was completely over grown, again I have pictures but I did the work myself. I heard that I can't not bill for that, is this true and/or can I charge for days lost of work ?

Thank you in advance!

 

[adjusterjack]

I had to evict a tenant for non-pay of rent and suing for money owed and for eviction fees.

My condolences. I've been there.

Can I also charge her for lost day of work? I had to take a day off of work for the court date which she did not show.

No. Nobody gets that just. The time you take to file and pursue a lawsuit is not compensable.

can I charge for days she had possession up to the day of warrant of removal?

Yes.

I read in another post that photos are not good enough to hold up in court, is this true?

No. Not true at all. Photos are often the best evidence anybody can bring to court.

I have pictures of freshly painted rooms before they moved in and after, the walls in bedroom are so filthy I have to have it repainted.

Before and after photos are great.

they occupied the home for 14 months and I feel its beyond normal wear and tear,

I agree.

she used the walls like a tack board too.

That's "damage."

I got professional estimate for the painting.

Careful about that. You are only entitled to the repaint cost less depreciation.

The yard was completely over grown, again I have pictures but I did the work myself. I heard that I can't not bill for that, is this true and/or can I charge for days lost of work ?

You can't charge for time off from work but I would include, say, $10 an hour for your labor and leave it up to the judge to decide. Just don't try for more than a few hours or the judge might disallow it.

If you intend to continue being a landlord you'd better properly educate yourself as to your rights and obligations. New Jersey has a very good guide that cites statutes and case decisions which you can look up online. Statutes and case decisions are the ONLY places you should be seeking guidance. You've already picked up too much misinformation from the internet.

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/Publications/Pages/Manuals/TenantsRights.pdf

2013 New Jersey Revised Statutes

 

[Cindy W]

My condolences. I've been there.

If you intend to continue being a landlord you'd better properly educate yourself as to your rights and obligations. New Jersey has a very good guide that cites statutes and case decisions which you can look up online. Statutes and case decisions are the ONLY places you should be seeking guidance. You've already picked up too much misinformation from the internet.

http://www.lsnjlaw.org/Publications/Pages/Manuals/TenantsRights.pdf

2013 New Jersey Revised Statutes

Yes, I am new, I got misinformation from people too.
I want to be fair, I am not looking to rob them, but they clearly took advantage of me and I learned the hard way never to let things slide.

Depreciation, this I overlooked, so whats fair # of years a painted room should last?

 

[army judge]

Yes, I am new, I got misinformation from people too.
I want to be fair, I am not looking to rob them, but they clearly took advantage of me and I learned the hard way never to let things slide.

Depreciation, this I overlooked, so whats fair # of years a painted room should last?

A landlord can often receive a judgment in matters such as you pose.
That same landlord collects on that judgment occurs in fewer than 5% of all lawsuits.
Screening your tenants BETTER allows you to better prevail in small claims lawsuits.

The judgment will, however, make it more difficult for these deadbeats to screw other landlords in the future.
You can take solace in that notion even if you never collect a dollar.

 

[adjusterjack]

Yes, I am new, I got misinformation from people too.
I want to be fair, I am not looking to rob them, but they clearly took advantage of me and I learned the hard way never to let things slide.

"Fair" is where you go on rides and eat cotton candy. It doesn't apply to renters, who will screw you the minute your attention wanders. You need to treat your rental as a business, inspect monthly, and jump on the tenants with both feet the absolute minute you see non-compliance.

I always picked up the rent on the due date (written in the lease) and I carried my 3 day (AZ) pay or quit notice and my 7 day notice to cure.

I could tell you stories.

Depreciation, this I overlooked, so whats fair # of years a painted room should last?

My own experience with my rentals was that I had to repaint every two to three years just due to normal wear so the property would look good inside.

Unfortunately, I have no authority to cite so if you painted the interior a year or two before this last tenant you might get 50%. If the duration was years longer than that you'll get less. However, if your before and after photos show the paint in nice clean condition I'd seek the whole amount of the bill and if the tenant raises depreciation as a defense, the judge will make an adjustment.

Chances are that the tenant isn't going to show up and you'll end up with a default judgment.

I hope you kept a record of where the tenant works and copies of the tenant's checks so you have the banking information. If you don't have any of that your ability to collect may be limited.