There’s been a fire in one of your rental units. It’s 2:00 AM in the morning and the renters are crying and hysterical. They have no where to go, it’s the end of the month and they’re out of money and their two toddlers are screaming and crying. Now, not only is the whole building up and awake, the neighborhood has come crawling out of their homes as the fire engines’ own sirens have been screaming down the street and the swirling lights have woken everyone up. You decide to put the family up in your best model unit for a day or two so they can get their bearings and get on with their lives. The neighbors smile at you for ‘doing the right thing.
Fast forward a week or two, the tenants are now screaming and crying that the stove in the unit had a short in it so you’re now responsible to replace everything in their unit and let them stay in the model unit they now occupy. The firemen had to rip appliances out from the walls, everything is water and smoke damaged, so no final determination can be made. Oh, and they don’t have renters insurance either. Did you do the right thing?
You shouldn’t be so fast to ‘be the good guy’ by putting them up. Harsh? Maybe, but that is what the Red Cross is for. The Red Cross can give the displaced family emergency housing, food and clothing vouchers while they decide what to do next. About them squatting in the model unit: did you have a temporary housing agreement? No? Then they may just be staying there a good long while, with you footing the cable, electric, water and all other bills. Since there was no lease agreement, you can’t evict them, legally.
What can you do? Nothing, in this circumstance. So, if this happens, call the Red Cross, and if you feel you must put them up, get that Temporary Lease Agreement from your property Manager!