HELP ! My inherited tenant is an DEADBEAT!

[Rob Gleason]

We just finished renovating 1/2 of our latest duplex - see newbie rental diary#3.  Problem is that the other tenant wants his place fixed up too and is complaining about EVERYTHING he can find. He says there are bugs in the apartment so we have the exterminator spray his place and FUMIGATE the empty unit.  Then he complains about the smell of the spray.  Then the sprayer on the kitchen sink doesn't work so I replace it.  Then there are 2 broken windows and the apartment is drafty, so since we were replacing windows next door, I decided to replace all his windows too, at no charge.  Then he says the floor in the kitchen is uneven... It's not!... there's a crack in the ceiling... It's along a sheetrock seam!  No big deal and it's not getting bigger.  I offer to have my painter fix it AND paint the 2 adjoining rooms. When the painter shows up he won't open the door!  I call him and tell him the painter will come again in 2 days.  When the painter comes back, he won't let him move the furniture to paint!  Today we had  a refrigerator delivered and he parks his car so the delivery guy cant bring the fridge to the door!  It never ends with this guy!  Mind you, he had just signed the lease when we bought the building so all those problems were already known to him.  Not to mention his rent is $450 which is $50 -$150 less than anything similar in the area.  How do I get rid of this guys and his pregnant wife ?  Should I just let him out of of his lease?  We live in George. Can I evict them for parking in the wrong areas?  HELP PLEASE!

[Marcia Maynard]

@Rob Gleason This is one reason we do not do long term leases and only rent with MTM rental agreements. So much easier to resolve. Slowly increasing rent will encourage a problem tenant to move on. Letting a problem tenant out of a lease is also an option.

However, it is not unusual upon taking ownership of a tenanted property that the existing tenant will come to you with a laundry list of items that are of concern to them. Some will be legitimate concerns that you will need to address. Some will be things the tenant wants, but doesn't need. Some will be beyond the scope of what you are prepared to do.

We have some duplex units. When we upgrade one side, we usually do something for the other side as well. However, we rent the unit "as is". If a tenant asks for something that we do not want to do, we simply say "We understand what you're saying. (pause, don't say "but") This is the way the apartment is, if you want something else then you could look elsewhere. This is what we have to offer." Or if under market rent... "It is a good value for the price you pay." Or,"We will not be doing the upgrades to your unit that we did to the other unit unless we can easily access your unit to do the work." Or "If we upgrade your unit, we will need to raise the rent as well." 

Of course we attend to real problems with the unit responsibly, as you have. If the tenant is overly demanding, we re-establish clear boundaries and explain how to best communicate with us and how to make maintenance requests. You can ask the tenant to put his requests in writing, that will slow him down. We have a simple form we use for this purpose. Evaluate and prioritize each request individually. Put them on a project timeline and communicate to the tenant when something will be done. 

Respond to requests that you won't be acting on as well. Keep responses simple, such as "The entry is clean and functional, we will not be making any changes at this time." Or, "The property has been evaluated and treated by a pest control professional in accordance with industry standards."

I wouldn't be so quick to "get rid" of this tenant. I would work with him and guide him in adjusting to our management style. I would take the time to teach him what he needs to know to be in compliance with the terms of the rental agreement. The tenant is not always right, but the tenant always has rights. Be swift, firm, fair, and polite in your interactions.