A LANDLORD has charged the family of a dead granny $15,000 for rent – for breaking her lease.
The woman’s grieving relatives are shocked at the mammoth bill, which equates to a year’s worth of accommodation after her death.
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Sandra Bonilla died in San Antonio in late June, at the age of 91, reported News4SA.
The beloved granny had been living at a local complex, the Lodge at Shavano Park Apartments for about a decade.
She had almost a year left on her two-year lease at the time of her death.
Her son, David Naterman, told the broadcaster that he and his siblings were sent a bill from the apartment complex for $15,676, along with a collection notice.
“The fact that they’re attacking, coming after the next of kin, who quite honestly, we loved our mom and we’re still grieving and all they care about is the money,” he said.
“We went to the apartment complex, spoke to the leasing manager and he told us that he would use the security deposit towards the cleaning and turning over the apartment and that they would terminate the lease.”
This bill states the landlord is seeking $14,368 in “accelerated rent” and a further $1,117 for a lease-break fee.
It even said that Bonilla had moved out as she was “deceased”.
“They want the rest of the, about a year’s long worth of rent, from a dead person,” Naterman added.
The U.S. Sun has contacted the Lodge at Shavano Park for comment.
The broadcaster said its reporters had called and emailed about the allegations, and a manager explained that he couldn’t comment because of tenant confidentiality.
UNUSUAL BILL
“I think it’s pretty unusual,” Bill Clanton, an attorney who specializes in consumer and debt collection law, told News4SA.
“I’ve never heard of anybody trying to charge an estate or somebody who is deceased for rent before.”
There is a Texas law that states family members can cancel a lease if a relative dies.
“If a tenant who was the sole occupant of a rental dies during their lease, a representative of their estate can end their lease early,” according to the Texas State Law Library.
“The representative must provide written notice to the landlord under Section 92.0162 of the Texas Property Code.”
“The landlord can charge for about 30 days once the lease is terminated; you can’t get blood from a turnip and you certainly can’t get rent from a dead person,” Clanton said.
LAWSUIT THREAT
Naterman was adamant that the complex had been sent the termination notice following his mom’s death.
However, the collection letter sent to his family allegedly threatened to report the debt to a credit bureau or launch a lawsuit, the broadcaster said.
The news comes as a landlord now owes a tenant thousands after the renter complained about his lease following a significant rent increase.
A $16,500 settlement was reached in the Portland, Oregon rent control violation case, CBS affiliate WGME reported.
And a couple renting in Yukon complained after allegedly finding rotting chickens in the floor of their cabin.
