Search Warrant Served! Now what???

MMSMANAGER

We had a search warrant served on a tenant yesterday and the unit was emptied out by the police. What do I do now? I have dealt with search warrants in the past but they never found anything before. This time, it was emptied out completely. (Illegal weapons- lots of them!!!) The tenant had only been here for 2 weeks. I'm not exactly sure what to do at this point!

ESS

You can write a letter asking the PD to reimburse you for your rent if its not paid if you had a lien on the unit etc. If you don't really have any losses though, I'd let it go. It is not your responsibility to contact the tenant either. This is what I know to be true in Texas

Dtinfla

While the unit is still empty and the lock is off, I'd slap one of my locks on the unit and move them out.  

CVSSSTORAGE

I would check your states statutes but I would think this violates their lease you could just vacate it as abandoned. 

MamaDuke7

I would move it out. They already know the police have been there, I'm sure.  You'll likely never hear from them again.  That happened to me in 2009 or 2010, and he's still in prison.  (He was arrested on site before the warrant was served - GREAT timing!!!)

I know our lease states that any unit found vacant with no lock is considered vacated.  So if yours has anything like that, you're covered.

i43storage

Technically, they still have a lease - even though nothing is in it.  So they have a legal right to continue to use the unit if they have paid for the month.  You really can't lock them out in that case.  I would officially cancel their lease after the required notification period.

Orkocean

i43storage said:

Technically, they still have a lease - even though nothing is in it.  So they have a legal right to continue to use the unit if they have paid for the month.  You really can't lock them out in that case.  I would officially cancel their lease after the required notification period.

Dependent on what their lease and state statutes say. If their lease states a unit found empty with no lock is considered vacated and will be moved out it doesn't matter if they're paid up or not. I love when customers move out without notice and then call in at the end of their paid thru period later to tell us they moved out, we let them know we found it empty with no lock and moved them out the day they left and they get pissy about it. Lease clearly states if found empty it will be vacated, there is no prorating of move outs either.

CVSSSTORAGE

i43storage said:

Technically, they still have a lease - even though nothing is in it.  So they have a legal right to continue to use the unit if they have paid for the month.  You really can't lock them out in that case.  I would officially cancel their lease after the required notification period. 

I would think that having lots of guns in their storage and the illegal activity would be a violation of their lease. 

i43storage

CVSSSTORAGE said:

I would think that having lots of guns in their storage and the illegal activity would be a violation of their lease. 

Probably.  However, @Orkocean is right.  Need to go by what the lease (and state statutes) state.  Do the rules state if the tenant violates it you are authorized to automatically kicked them out? or does it state you still need to give them proper notification first.  Our lease says nothing about empty units.  I have lots of people who store their fancy cars and take them out for the weekend leaving the unit empty with no lock on until they return.  I don't think they'd be all to happy when they returned after a joy ride if the unit had a lock on it because I rented it while they were gone.  Every place is different.  So @MMSMANAGER - I say, read your lease - read your state statute, and then act accordingly.

Orkocean

@i43storage when we run sites that have vehicles in units we make sure the tenants know even if they take a vehicle out they still need to keep a lock on their unit. When we had sites with non enclosed parking spots we asked tenants to just give us a heads up if they were gonna be out for awhile so we knew. Out of 80 spots it only happened once and it was someone who was out for quite a bit and we tried reaching multiple times with no luck. He finally showed back up and came in because his code wasn't working, seems he had been in the hospital for a few months while his RV was in the shop at the same time.

i43storage

@Orkocean Yes, it would be wise for all tenants to keep their lock on their units at all times - but alas.  

Faye

CYA. Send a eviction notice and be done with them.

MMSMANAGER

So turns out our lease does have an immediate termination for illegal activities and unlawful items. Easy-peasy! Thanks for all the great advice! 

Dtinfla

This person who was storing illegal weapons-lots of them, probably has more pressing concerns at this moment than whether or not they have been moved out of their storage unit...