How To Deal With Dirty Tenant

[Jimmy Vance]

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.

[Jimmy Vance]

Quote from @Nathan Gesner:

Quote from @Jimmy Vance:

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.

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.