Want a tenant gone and need advice. 20/24 months left on a house hack.

[Greg P.]

Hello, would like your advice on clearing a problem I have.

I house hack a home in Texas and have a detached ADU I've rented for years. It's always been fine and worked with many tenants and never had an issue until this current one.

They are at 20 months of a 24 month lease, ending at end of January. Being close to expiration I’m going back and forth on what to do.

This tenant has just been a pain. It’s small stuff that’s compounded: first they had a non-functioning vehicle dropped at the back of the property after they totaled it. I should have put my foot down 12 months ago about removing it but I let it go. They admitted it was after a drunk driving incident, which at the time was a major red flag but I let it slide. Then there are calls about all sorts of minor stuff - and just odd behavior, like calling the gas company at midnight because they thought they smelled rotten eggs….. getting our gas shut off for a day, bringing over questionable house guests, bringing over a small dog and housing it without asking, and just overall kind of being a mess. They still manage to pay rent on time with one exception where we negotiated a late payment.

Bottom line is I’m just tired of dealing with them from the problems, erratic behavior, etc. It would be one thing if I was distant from the property but having them on my property is exhausting.

What’s the best way to deal with this, do I:

1. 1. Gut it out until the end of January with this person and either a) play more hard ball about the vehicle and other stuff b) play it softer and just gut it out with them
2. 2. Do a cash for keys deal and just try to get them out early… I’ve thought about offering that if they leave by the end of November (~60 days notice) that I’d give them November free + $500 in moving expenses and return of security deposit if left in good condition
3. 3. Look at a harder type of removal… not sure what that would look like but I’m sure would require an attorney - but suspect I may have some options given I live on the property and I’m uncomfortable with house guests + other issues

I take ownership for some of this because I let a few items slip trying to be accommodating. From all my landlord schooling I knew in my gut that wasn’t the right thing to do, so here we are.

Any advice appreciated - thanks.

[Dan H.]

Calling gas when they believe they smell gas is a desired event. 

Your lease should have items about inoperable cars and visiting pets.  In the absence of anything in the lease, I am not convinced you have a problem tenant.  My initial recommendation is tighten up your lease.  We charge a pet fee for visiting pets that is at the high end of boarding cost and at move out we charge to have HVAC professionally cleaned and carpets professionally cleaned (many of our units do not have any carpet) to place unit back in animal free state (many people are allergic to pet dander). For vehicles, we require vehicles not garaged to be registered and drivable.  In the event of recent non-drivable we would allow more time to get in operational state than we would allow for other lease violations

In my market option 3 could be very costly.   If you want them out, negotiate an early departure.   However, I would choose to let them stay through their lease end and tighten up the lease for the next tenant.   

Good luck