H.W.
Give them notice and kick their sorry butts out. You need renters who care about pipes not freezing, etc.
Wouldn't public storage cost less?
As for your 'elected official' friend-- the next time he asks for a favor, say thanks but no thanks, let him know that he represented a nincompoop (to put it nicely) and that this ended up feeling dishonest and being far more work on your end than it needed to be. He got played, you got played.... did you do a background check on these people with a rental/credit history? Any sort of vetting?