Tenant making excessive repairs on the property!?

[G. Doby]

So I just brought in some new tenants on the 1st of June, after a well detailed screening process. One of the tenants is a handyman and has been making significant improvements on the home like: better flooring, having the outside of the house repainted, adding a shower in the half bathroom, building new fences...

This is concerning to me because in the 10 years I have had rentals I've never encountered a tenant like this.

To top it off they have paid their rent in full and on time, which means to me they are doing it on their own dime!

Obviously I want to protect myself, so I've begun looking at case law to see if there would be anyway they could come after me later. Should I get something in writing making it clear that they are making these improvements on their own? Should I consult an attorney?

*All major improvements have been brought to me for approval prior to being done...

[Bruce Woodruff]

Never let a tenant do anything to your property, with or without your permission. Permission is not the point. They may or may not be doing things correctly, with regard to current code or just in general. And you don't want them to have any leverage over you if the relationship goes south some day. And it's just not good business. 

Do not even have a relationship where you have a contract with them to do work for you, it's just messy. Find a good - licensed - Contractor to do any work on your property.