Tenants want shed- advice needed

[Sam Zawatsky]

Hello,

I’ve got a rental property that has an inherited tenant in it. When I bought the property, it was very messy in the backyard with huge piles of buried trash (old tile and toilets from past bathroom remodels dumped into a hole in the ground) and a very old shed that had things hoarded in it. The tenant claims that all of the buried piles of trash and the shed were all there when she first started renting 5 years ago, and wants to purchase a new shed because she needs a place to store items. I originally told her I didn’t want more items piled up everywhere making a mess, and told her I would only allow one shed on the premises. Eventually, I got tired of the mess in the yard and hired a large dump trailer to help me to clean out the entire backyard, removing all the trash and the old shed. Now, my question is; should I allow the tenant to purchase a new shed and place it on the property? They seem to be a decent tenant for the most part, not perfect but not terrible either. Or is allowing them to purchase this shed and place it where the old one was a big mistake ?

[Jill F.]

I would only permit a shed that I owned on the property. I'd probably do a 5 yr ROI so if I paid $5000, her rent would increase $85/month for the use of the shed. I'm pretty transparent with tenants regarding my required ROI when they request a property improvement.