Locking backyard of Owner Occupied multifamily?

[Thomas Hickey]

Hello All,

I am an owner occupant of a 4 family that I bought about a year ago. It has a small backyard. I am considering locking the backyard for my use only.

~Currently it it not used by any tenants.

~Tenants will not need access to anything back there.

~It's current condition is very poor

~I would like to fix it up and keep it locked for myself to enjoy and storage of a few things

Have any of you done similar things/ or see any problems with this?

Thanks!

[Bill S.]

Like @Joe Fairless said, you should look at your lease and make sure that it spells out what areas are being leased by the tenant. Hopefully it specifies the unit and nothing else. I would lock it out for a month or so before I started sprucing it up and see what comes of it. If no one complains then you are good. Next time a lease comes up make sure you limit their use of the property to what is specifically described in the lease and then spell out what they can use.