Tenant background check didn't show he was a felon...

[Danielle Moser]

I have had a tenant in my rental since October 1.  I ran a background check on him, all was fine, seemed like a nice guy, pays on time.  Since October 1, he has had multiple house guests who have stayed well past a visitation period (7 weeks, 8 weeks) and none were family members.  I have since squashed that issue and had the one long-time visitor sign the lease and become a co-tenant to cover myself.  A little background:  I own one duplex and I live on one side and rent out the other.  It's just me and my daughter, so I was very picky when choosing a tenant.  I am not looking to do this as a second career, it's just a way for us to live comfortably, in a nice family neighborhood. 

Just this week, luckily I was home, and heard banging at the door.  To my surprise, I was greeted by my current tenant's probation officer.  He had robbed 1 or more banks 20 years ago in another state and is on federal probation.  I have no idea what kind of time he served, or how long he will remain on probation; however, I was upset this didn't show up on a background check AND he never once mentioned this to me - which is a bit baffling as he knows his probation officer could show up at his home at any time and he shares a front door with his landlord.  I have since learned a bit about federal background checks vs. state background checks, which I will be sure to look further into for my next tenant.  He has continuously lied about the time frames of his "visitors", one I think is actually an illegal immigrant from Canada, has told many stories that just don't add up... and now I find out he's an ex-felon.  My question is - since I didn't ask on my application if he had ever been convicted of a crime, and it's not his fault I didn't do a federal background check - do I have any grounds on which to evict him, or ask him to leave?  At this point I'm a little nervous and wouldn't want to talk with him alone.   

[Jeff Rabinowitz]

Welcome to BP. You offered a lease and he accepted. If he pays rent on time you can only evict him for lease violations. If long term visitors are prohibited on your lease that could qualify as a lease violation but that is a violation he can easily cure if you serve him notice. The fact that you are nervous now that you know of his history is not relevant. You state he is a nice guy, pays rent on time and his offense was more than 20 years ago. Have you considered that he may be a good tenant?