Ethical dilemma- super dirty unit, but the guy is disabled.Evict?

[Eric Hathway]

I recently acquired a building and there is one unit which is disgusting, smelly, and dirty. There have been multiple complaints of the smell by the other tenants. The smell equals that of underwear that has been worn for 2 weeks straight in 90 degree heat with a constant Taco Bell diet. Furthermore, it is the first unit of 11 when you walk in. Every tenant walks by and new prospective tenants as well.

The tenant has been there 10 years and always paid on time. His rent is $100-$150 under market value.

It sounds like an easy decision to evict, but he is a single, older male with multiple medical conditions. He certainly doesn't have the financial means to find another place and has disabilities which require him to have close parking and a handicapped accessible unit, therefore, limiting his options to find another place. He has no local family around.

Part of me wants him out because he is hurting my investment property and he is disturbing the other tenants. I am losing $150 a month in cash flow for as long as he stays and he will never leave on his own.

The human part of me fears what will happen to the guy if evicted. He honestly might die living in his car.

If I raised his rent, he wouldn't be able to afford it, and that would lead to eviction, so that would basically be the same as evicting him because of the complaints.

I'm in a tough spot. I've only met the guy once, should it be on my conscience to keep him with a stable living environment?

The maintenance man goes in and cleans up his unit every 6 months. Here is his unit before a cleaning:

What should I do?

[Randy E.]

I would explain to him that part of his lease agreement is that he maintain the property in a relatively clean/decent/responsible manner.  (Hopefully, your lease with him actually states something to that effect.) 

I would then explain that he has not been doing that in the past, but that from today forward he will be held responsible for failing to adhere to that part of the lease.  It is one thing to be disabled, but if the man can walk to his car and drive around, he can certainly keep his apartment somewhat clean.  It may be difficult for him to walk to the dumpster, so I might arrange for him to be able to leave a trash bag outside his back door and have the maintenance man take it to the dumpster.

Tell him that any future complaints will result in a unit inspection, and that a failed inspection will result in eviction.  I would give him two weeks from your conversation to have the unit cleaned.  Tell him he can either clean it himself or he can hire and pay for a cleaning service to come weekly and clean the apartment.

Regarding the rent: with 22 units, I personally would be okay with leaving his rent at its current level.  Some landlords will say you should never leave a dime on the table.  Some will say landlords should always be considerate of a tenant's needs and financial situation.  I think there's room for compromise, but I also wouldn't say you were wrong to increase the rent to market rate if that was your decision.

NOTE: I am not a lawyer and not familiar with the landlord/tenant laws in New Hampshire.  You should verify that it is legal to evict for filth in your state.