How To Deal With Dirty Tenant

Question

I bought this condo at the end of 2021. The tenant is pre-existing, pays rent on time and doesn't give any issues, seems like a nice enough guy. He's lived there for over 5 years with his teenage son.

The property management company did an inspection today and the place was filthy. If it was vacant I would do a head to toe remodel.

Filthy carpeting, mildew around bathtub, brown stains on shower walls and ceiling (hard water?), closet doors falling off, cabinets need rehab, stove falling apart, botched paint job in a room or two by tenant, sinks that don't work right, stoppers missing on sinks and bathtubs, appears to have done some do-it yourself repairs by wrapping tape around a pipe leak for example, air filter appears to be very old.

The only positive is that he doesn't have trash/garbage all over the place. No signs of insects or other infestations.

A new stove is on the way and they are sending a handyman and plumber to sort out a few other issues the correct way.

Property manager sent over a note to tenant, being as nice a possible without calling the person a slob, to keep the place in some type of cleanly order. He basically blamed long work hours and back to back shifts for not keeping up with the property.

My main worry - is liability if this place becomes a mold fest and he decides to claim sickness and place the blame on me over the condition he created.

I'm sure a few people here had dealings with tenants like this.

Scott Mac · Answer

Collect the rent.

Jimmy Vance · Answer

I bought near the end of 2021 and his lease expired at the end of 2022. We gave a 3 month extension to evaluate whether to keep the tenant and did our first inspection a few days ago. The PM does them yearly. I have people who want to buy the unit as-is, wanting the tenant. I own free and clear and may pump the money into grabbing a higher-end property. I'll see what happens in the next few days.The PM messaged him and was as nice as possible, without outright calling him a slob. He blamed the state of the unit on long work hours and promised to do better, but I doubt it. Some people are what they are.

Drew Sygit · Answer

From a business perspective, how much would it cost to make unit RentReady again and compare that to additional rent you might be able to get.Often, it's better to leave the tenant in the property and avoid the RentReady expense as long as possible.Did you increase rent yet?You may want to do so to cover cost of quarterly inspections by the PMC. Biggest concern is noncosmetic damage to the property caused by water leaks, pest infestations, etc.PMC could also negotiate with the tenant that PMC will send in cleaner quarterly and bill the tenant.

Dena Puliatti · Answer

Property Manager needs to be more aggressive. He's a slob. Tell him he has 14 days to clean up his disaster of a condo. If not, then let him know that the home will be deep cleaned at his expense. The air filter is a problem. If it's disgusting, then that is playing hard on your HVAC. We do inspections every 3 months and change the air filters. This preventative maintenance saves you money in the long run. Have the property manager replace the filter at his expense. Before you do anything, check the lease to make sure it says that the tenant must keep the home clean.

Alex Talcott · Answer

Housing is in short supply and being a landlord is enough work and risk. It's not worth many headaches as far as I'm concerned.

Richard F. · Answer

Aloha,Poor housekeeping is always a red flag...bad habits breed more bad habits. "Nice Guy" is not a screening criteria. Who walked through the unit prior to completing the sale transaction? You, your PM, or a third party? A clean up deadline and re-inspection date should have been initiated immediately after closing with regard to the housekeeping issues. As a condo, any issues can easily affect neighboring units. Do you want the reputation of being "that" landlord? If the underlying condition was that poor to begin with, you should have negotiated with the tenant to vacate asap. You have given up a year of market rents already by procrastinating.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

This didn't happen overnight. Start inspecting regularly. You should have noticed something during your first look, during your inspection phase of the purchase, or during your annual inspection in 2021 or 2022. Inspect at least once a year and catch these problems early.Your PM should give the Tenant a stern warning and a deadline for cleaning the unit. Then reinspect for compliance. 15 days should be more than enough time. Then monitor. If he improves, maybe he can stay. It sounds like you'll want to end this lease when it expires, renovate, and find a new tenant.