Where is My Missing Tenant? I’m a Landlord & My Tenant Has Disappeared – What Do I Do?
Owning property can be very rewarding, with a passive income being created that can support you financially throughout your life. However, it can be hard work too, with more than one or two pitfalls lurking along the way. One particular pitfall is the missing tenant who has absconded owing you rent, that can end up causing you a lot of problems and costing you a lot of money.
Even just a few months of non-payment can really rack up as the average rent in Australia is around $450 per week. And if you own a high end property imagine what dollar amount could be bleeding from your bank account if the property is not bringing in an income. So, when you turn up at their doorstep to find that they’re no longer at home, what do you do? Well, firstly, the best advice we can give you is not to panic. Hiring a private investigator should certainly be on your ‘to-do’, but you do have to follow the rules.
Knowing the Law
A mistake that some landlords make is assuming that the missing tenant has gone, as they may not have done – however deserted the place may look. As a reputable private detective agency will tell you, even in an instance when your tenant has stopped paying rent and you believe that they’ve absconded, it still doesn’t necessarily bring their tenancy agreement to an end.
Laws governing this kind of thing will vary from state to state, however, typically speaking, you’ll be able to bring the tenancy to an end legally after providing 30 days notice of any of the following tenancy agreement terms being breached by the occupier:
- They’ve failed to pay the rent on the agreed date
- The property hasn’t been kept in a clean state
- They’re not behaving in a considerate manner to the landlord and/or neighbours
The finer details of how to go about evicting a tenant can vary, so it’s important to seek legal advice in these matters, however, once you’re sure that they’ve skipped town and your tenancy has ended, the job of tracking them down the missing tenant starts. That’s when getting a reputable private investigator on the case is a wise move.
Finding A Missing Tenant
If you were thorough at the beginning of your agreement with the tenant, then you should have the details you need to get hold of them and sort things out. However, if they don’t answer or they’ve just given you fake details that go nowhere, the sooner you get a private detective agency involved – the better, as the more time passes, the lower the chances of recovery become.
Typically speaking, when rogue tenants leave town, they’re usually doing it in something of a hurry, which usually means that some clues are usually left behind. What’s more, a good PI firm will be able to use their own particular skill set to make the most of these clues and find the missing tenants in question in the most stress-free way possible.
Let the Professionals Get to Work
So, if you’re experiencing anything like what we’ve covered here, it’s worth reiterating that you should remain calm and weigh up your options. Of course, there’s a cost involved to hiring a private detective , but if it leads to recovering what can be thousands of dollars in unpaid rent from your missing tenant, then it’s most definitely worth it.
If you would like to know more about Integral Investigations and the professional and ethical methods we use to resolve our client issues, please visit us online at www.integralinvestigations.com.au. Alternatively, should you need to talk to us about your problem, you can call us on +61 2 9460 4988 and we’ll be delighted to assist in any way we can.
