Problematic tenant/Room rented

[Maria De La Vega]

Hi all,

I have a tenant who rents a private room and bathroom in my property, ( I do not live in this property). She has been a problematic tenant since day 1. Luckily my contract with her is month to month. I've sent her the 30 days vacate notice a month ago and we have agreed for her to move out this coming April 15th.

I have a potential tenant who wants to see the room for rent. I've notified my problematic tenant that I will be showing the room on Friday and gave her more than 24 hours notice. A few days ago, she said that was ok and asked to not touch any of her stuff. Today, a day before the showing she said that she will be coming home around the time I am going to show the room to the potential tenant. I've asked her to wait until I am done showing the room, but she said that she has the right to be there if she wants to. I have a couple of questions about this.

Does she have the right to be there while I show the room?

What are my rights as a landlord showing the room to the potential tenant?

TIA

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Maria De La Vega, of course she as your tenant has the right to be there. You have signed over possession rights to this property to her.

People rarely think of it this way, but giving a lease to a tenant is VERY similar to giving a deed to a buyer. Both transfer rights to real estate. However with a lease, you are only giving some rights to the tenant like possession and only for a limited period of time. So, in a way you should think of a tenant as OWNER of some rights to the property.

Be happy she is cooperating with the showing. Many tenants do NOT cooperate despite what the lease states about it. That creates a civil dispute that police may or may not assist with until you go to court over it.