Lockdown: how to manage the departure of your tenant?

Lockdown measures linked to the Coronavirus epidemic have a direct impact on the management of your accommodation(s). Certain unforeseen situations may arise from this: your tenant is in confinement in the accommodation when his departure was imminent, your tenant has left the premises early, or he plans to do so. This article will help you take stock of the various possible solutions.

Your tenant has left the accommodation temporarily

Rent due

Even if they have left the premises for an indefinite period, your tenant continues to owe you the rent: for the moment, there is no government directive referring to the suspension of rents.

Your tenant has left the accommodation permanently

Key recovery

If the tenant has kept the keys, contact them to ask them to send them to you by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt.

Notice & rent due

The tenant of a furnished accommodation has one month's notice to inform you of his departure. Legally, the rent is owed to you for the 30 days following the date on which you learned of his departure.. If you feel it is necessary, you can withhold this amount from the security deposit on a pro rata basis, before refunding the remainder of the deposit by wire transfer.

? For example, if you learned of the tenant's departure on March 15, they are legally liable for their rent until April 15, even if they left on March 17.

Generally, the notice is sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. We encourage you to be flexible by considering that you have received the notice as soon as your tenant has informed you of his departure, and this whatever the form of the news (SMS, Mail…).

Whichever way you decide to proceed, it is important to communicate the chosen solution with your tenant. The emergency situation meant that the notice could not be respected, and these exceptional circumstances can only encourage us to show our collective leniency. ??

Leaving Inventory

If you have not been able to carry out an exit inventory with your tenant, you can do it remotely once the situation allows. When you have access to the accommodation, make the inventory and send to the tenant the completed document accompanied by the corresponding photos and the copy of the leaving inventory.

Normally, you have one month to return the security deposit. If there is a gap between the tenant's departure date and the date on which you can make an inventory, this period could of course be extended, by informing the tenant.

Updating the availability of your ad

Your accommodation was occupied for less time than expected. To be able to receive new requests, remember to update the availability of your ad ! You can manage your new reservations remotely and without a visit

Your tenant will leave the accommodation permanently

Key recovery

If the building has a caretaker or you know a trusted person near the accommodation, you can ask the tenant to leave the keys with him. Otherwise, ask them to send them to you by registered mail.

Notice & rent due

The tenant of a furnished accommodation has one month's notice to inform you of his departure. Legally, the rent is owed to you for the 30 days following the date on which you learned of his departure. If you feel it is necessary, you can withhold this amount from the security deposit on a pro rata basis, before refunding the remainder of the deposit by wire transfer.

? For example, if you learned of the tenant's departure on March 15, they are legally liable for their rent until April 15, even if they left on March 17.

Generally, the notice is sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. We encourage you to be flexible by considering that you have received the notice as soon as your tenant has informed you of his departure, and this whatever the form of the news (SMS, Mail…).

Whichever way you decide to proceed, it is important to communicate well with your tenant about the chosen solution. The emergency situation meant that the notice could not be respected, and these exceptional circumstances can only encourage us to show our collective leniency.??

Leaving Inventory

If your tenant is leaving soon and you are unable to carry out an inventory together, ask them to take pictures of the accommodation and equipment room by room, once the cleaning has been done and the premises emptied.

Updating the availability of your ad

Your accommodation will be occupied for a shorter time than expected. To be able to receive new requests, remember to update the availability of your ad ! You can manage your new reservations remotely and without a visit.

Your tenant continues to occupy the accommodation while their contract has ended or will soon end

Your tenant may not have had time to make arrangements to vacate the unit before the announcement of full containment measures and had no choice but to stay there. Solidarity is our priority at the moment: of course we cannot kick him out. Here are the possible solutions.

Contract update

Your tenant is temporarily forced to continue to occupy the accommodation. As the situation evolves, you must ensure that the rental continues with an up-to-date contract:

If you have signed a classic rental contract (empty or furnished), you do not have to do anything: the contract is automatically renewed if no notice has been given.
If you have signed a furnished student contract, it is non-renewable and you will need to sign a new standard rental contract.
If you have signed a mobility contract, you can make an amendment to the contract to extend it by a period agreed together, as long as the cumulative duration of the first contract and the amendment to the contract does not exceed 10 months. Otherwise, you can sign a new classic rental agreement.

In each of these cases, the tenant can then leave the accommodation by giving you notice on the basis of the renewed contract or the new signed contract.

? You can sign your contract remotely by exchanging a scan of your signed copy in turn by email or in PDF format on Studapart messaging.

Updating the availability of your ad

Your accommodation will be occupied longer than expected. To avoid receiving new requests during this period, remember to remember to update the availability of your ad! !

If you already have an upcoming confirmed reservation with a lease between now and May 15th, you may need to cancel or postpone it. In this case, contact us at support@studapart.com.

Does the Studapart Guarantee cover unpaid rent following an early departure?

You may have an Unpaid Rental Guarantee for your rental. The Studapart Unpaid Rent Guarantee, in partnership with Allianz, covers unpaid rent from a tenant who occupies the accommodation.

This guarantee does not cover the current situation: departures are unfortunately early and unforeseen. The deficiency caused by such a departure cannot be associated with a case of unpaid rent since the tenant no longer occupies the accommodation, and this for cases of force majeure.
In these circumstances, we advise you to ask the tenant for payment until the end of the departure notice period, or to make a deduction from the security deposit.

? If you have a loan on this property, you can contact your bank advisor: a deferral can help you overcome a rental shortfall.

Once again, whatever the solution chosen, we ask you to communicate well with each other, and with us if necessary. The situation is unprecedented, and the time has come for solidarity and empathy on the part of each of us. The whole team remains mobilized to support you.