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Below you will see an interesting news article, along with a video about a tenant who died during his lease and the landlord’s response.

Fort Lauderdale Landlord Emulates Scrooge In Demanding Rent From Dead Man

Fort Lauderdale, FL (AHN) – Florida’s overbuilt and slow real estate market has left the state over loaded with a huge inventory of homes, condos and apartments that don’t sell or rent. That might explain why one South Florida landlord is seeking rent from a dead man, claiming that he is owed three months rent because the tenant failed to give 60 days notice before dropping dead of an unexpected heart attack.

Fort Lauderdale landlord Alan Statsky claims he is owed the money for the apartment at Sun Harbour Yearly Residences that Art Zissen left vacant after dying there of a heart attack on Sept. 22.

"Part of the contract says if you abandon your lease and you don’t pay on your lease that we have a right to collect your security deposit," property manager Alan Statsky was quoted as saying by Local 10 news.

But it’s not just the dead man’s security deposit. In a move that could have been a scene in novelist Charles Dickens’ "A Christmas Carol" by character Ebenezer Scrooge, Statsky wants rent for October, November and December for the vacant apartment too. And since Art Zissen is dead, Statsky sent his relatives a bill for three months of rent.

Although it’s up to a Broward County judge to interpret the lease in January, a lawyer says the lease died when Zissen did leaving Statsky without any contract to enforce.

"This landlord’s ability to collect rent came to an end when Mr. Zissen died," Russell White, an attorney for Zissen’s family, was quoted as saying by Local 10 news. He added, "That landlord, in my view, is trying to take advantage of the situation to extract money. It looks to me that it’s motivated on pure greed."

Zissen’s brother notified the apartment management company on Sept. 24 that his brother had died, then cleaned out the apartment and did a walk through with apartment managers on Oct. 5.

While I can understand the man’s estate being responsible for the remainder of the lease I would expect the death to remove the need for notice.  Is it really abandonment?  It seems like the bother was trying to do the right thing.  This just reminds me of something Bill Maher said when interviewing Elizabeth Warren.  They were discussing the recently passed Credit Card legislation and Bill said that it was needed because we just don’t treat each other very well.  This is another example of that.  I can see legislation being formed because one guy wants to rip off another one here.

Today I read this article about Sheriff Tom Dart in Illinois that is refusing to evict tenants from properties where the landlord was foreclosed.  I agree with some of his ideas.  Specifically the banks should know who is living in the property and there should be notification that the property is going into foreclosure.  No tenant should find out by the sheriff going to their door to move them out.  

What I do have a problem with is a sheriff not doing his job.  His statement that "Until the banking industry steps up and does the right thing, I won't continue to risk violating the law and open taxpayers to further liability" is wrong.  He admits he tried to lobby the legislature to pass a law which never happened.  If he tried to get a new law passed why would he now say that he is worried about violating the law?  It sounds to me like he is on a personal crusade and needs to uphold the laws on the books.  Just because he was unable to get his own law passed does not mean he can ignore his duty.  

On the flip side, there is this law which affects only three small areas within Philadelphia.  Here city council passed a law that on certain blocks within a vicinity of one college students must live in owner occupied housing.  Now you need to know that there are at least 6 major colleges or universities in Philadelphia.  This law only applies to the houses near one of them.  I can't see how a law can be passed only for certain parts of a city and not others.  Someone needs to challenge the legality of this law and fight back.

web log for us – those that see some huge regulations coming for landlords in the future