SAN ANTONIO, Texas (WOAI) — The apartment complex that sought to collect a year’s rent after the death of one of its tenants has changed its mind. Sandra Bonilla’s family received a letter from the Lodge at Shavano Park on Thursday night apologizing for billing her mother for breaking her lease when she died at age 91 in late June.
Brandon Izaguirre, apartment manager at the Lodge at Shavano Park, emailed Sandra Bonilla’s family: “We deeply regret the unfortunate typo that resulted in Sandra’s account at the Lodge at Shavano Park Apartments being incorrectly charged. We have corrected the error and removed the remaining charges as a courtesy. There is no outstanding balance and the updated final bill is attached to this email. We apologize again for our error.”
“YOU DID IT! Jaie, I know it’s your job but I’m still speechless. Thank you!” wrote Sandra Bonilla’s son David Naterman.
Bonilla’s grieving family received a bill for $15,000 despite sending a written cancellation letter to the complex after her death. Despite efforts to have the bill canceled, they also received a reminder.
Under Texas law, a representative of the deceased can terminate the lease with written notice. If that representative removes property from the property, the landlord is prohibited from charging the deceased’s estate more than 30 days’ rent.
One day after we reported on the dispute, the Lodge at Shavano Park apologized to the family and waived rent and termination fees.
Bonilla is buried next to her husband at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. She lived at the Lodge at Shavano Park Apartments for over ten years. At the time of her death, Bonilla had almost a year left on her two-year lease.
“We went to the apartment complex, spoke to the manager of the rental property and he told us that he would use the security deposit to clean and turn over the apartment and that they would terminate the lease,” said David Naterman, Bonilla’s son.
But later, the family received a bill for $14,368 in “accelerated rent” and a $1,117 lease termination fee, which even listed “deceased” as the reason for their move out.
“I find this quite unusual. I have never heard of anyone trying to collect rent from an executor or a deceased person,” says Bill Clanton, an attorney specializing in consumer and debt collection law.
“The landlord can still demand rent for 30 days after the lease ends. You can’t get blood from a turnip and you certainly can’t get rent from a dead person,” Clanton said.
