Tenant working on cars at property

[Robert Dunbar]

Hi Bp,

I have a tenant that started working on cars at the property we rent to them. There’s a bunch of cars parked in the yard. The tenants never asked if this was okay and just started doing it. We don’t feel great about it for various reasons, namely it’s a liability, an eye sore, and we don’t know of all the problems this could present.

Has anyone had this happen? What would be the best way to approach the issue?

Thanks,

Rob

[Charles Carillo]

@Robert Dunbar

I would check their lease and see if any language covers this. Either way, you must contact them to explain the situation and see how they respond. They might be open to removing the vehicles. Maybe tell them it is not permitted by your insurance. The sooner you reach out, the better when an issue like this appears.

I would also check with your city. It might be against the law to repair vehicles or have them in the yard, on the grass, etc. We once had a tenant who left their totaled and unregistered car at our property, and they would not move it. We called the city, and the city put a sticker on the car saying that you could not keep unregistered vehicles on the property and that they would tow it in a week. He hurried up and sold the car for junk.

In the future, I would add a clause to future leases prohibiting the repair of any vehicles on the property.