how to tell tenant he's too dirty & that you're terminating his lease?

Question

Hi landlords! So we have a great tenant who's been living in the studio we rent out for almost 2 yrs now. He's great, pays his bills on time except he's so dirty and messy and has a cat who's litter box he doesn't seem to clean out often enough. We're planning to renovate the studio this fall--a reason to get this project going w/new bathroom, new kitchen, new floor, opened floor plan, new paint, etc. and will notify him to move out & need to terminate his lease. He may ask if he can move back in once the place is renovated (we expect the renovation should be done in 2-3 wks). How do we tell him we DON'T want him back because he's too dirty?  We want someone cleaner, especially since the place will be renovated. We may put out an ad looking for a new tenant even though the place wouldn't be renovated yet so he'll surely see the ad on Craig's list, etc. How do we kindly tell him we're terminating his lease and that we don't want him back? What reason do we give him for not wanting him back? Will the truth be too painful?

Steve Babiak · Answer

Tell the tenant that you do not allow pets in freshly renovated units. Pets only allowed in units where last renovation was two or more years back.

Jim Shepard · Answer

I wouldn't tell him that you don't want him back in the place after fix up.  I would just tell him that you are fixing up the place and raising the rent substantially.  If you tell him now that you don't want him, he may refuse to move out and you will have a different problem to contend with at that time.

Anthony Gayden · Answer

@Sara Nuon

I'm a little confused about your situation. Why are you renovating his unit? Why not wait until after this guy moves out? For now you have a nice steady cash flowing rental with little vacancy.

Jennifer L. · Answer

I don't know why you would have to tell him.  I assume you will be raising the rent and when you open it up to applications, you can allow him to reapply.  You can even be nice and waive the fee for him since you are familiar with the tenant and know his payment practices.  Then, if you don't have any other qualified potential tenants, you can tell the tenant your concerns about his cleanliness and either reject him on that basis or work with him and accept him subject to new lease conditions on cleanliness.

Sara N. · Answer

Hi all--thanks for all the great suggestions, especially to not confront him as to why, let him re-apply if he really wanted to (but by then he'd be out of the place and living somewhere else permanently).  He's on a month to month lease and we're planning to renovate soon because there's a probability we'll be moving out of state later next yr for work, so we want to get the studio updated before we oversee this property remotely.

THANKS again for all your input! : )

Jeremiah Perry · Answer

I have wondered the same thing as to what a landlord can do about a messy tenant.  Since he is paying his rent on time, and Im assuming there is no damage, do you have grounds to do anything about it?  I am also agreeing with @Anthony Gaydenif the tenant is in there and paying I wouldnt bother renovating until he was gone.  Or you could just not give him the option to extend his lease, explain your going to do some renovations and you are not sure how long it will take.

Silvia B. · Answer

When is his lease set to end? Could you wait until his lease ends and give him notice 30-60 days in advance. Let him know you will not be renewing lease due to rehab and then follow up as Jennifer stated in her response.

Christopher Brainard · Answer

@Sara Nuon

If he still has time on his lease, you can't terminate without cause. Assuming his lease is up or he is on a month to month, you just need to follow your state requirements for lease termination, which here, is sending written notice 30 days prior.

I would allow him to reapply after the renovations are complete, if he wishes, at the new rental rate. It doesn't sound like you would be interested in having him as a tenant, which is fine, just don't select him. I would not confront him or say anything rude or offensive, no reason to burn any bridges in business. After all, if you don't receive any other applications, his may not seem so bad after a few months of vacancy ;)

-Christopher

how to tell tenant he's too dirty & that you're terminating his lease?

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