Tenant subtly damaging property?

Question

Summary if you don't want to read the whole post: Tenant thinks they will be able to buy the house they are in from me and may be intentionally damaging property to get free repairs prior to buying the house. Don't have any concrete proof but am unsure of how to proceed.

I have a delicate situation that hasn't turned badly yet but is setting off warning signals and was hoping to get some advice.

A fairly new tenant has been submitting numerous repair requests.  The first few seemed quite legitimate as I personally went to check them out and even repaired some of the smaller issues.  Some larger issues cropped up that I wasn't able to deal with so I called a contractor I was familiar with.  This is when some of the dubious repair requests started coming in and now the contractor has passed on comments made to him by the tenant that are worrisome.

There was some sagging subfloor that needed to be replaced from water damage prior to my ownership.  During the repair of the subfloor, the tenant made multiple comments to the contractor about needing new carpet in the bedroom (it's about 5 years old).  Has not made this comment to me yet.  After these comments had been made, the tenant claimed there were rips and tears in the carpet resulting from the repair of the floor.  The contractor had mentioned to me they noticed damage in areas they weren't working in.  The repair was in one area of the bedroom and the carpet damage appeared in the other side.

The tenant also mentioned to the contractor multiple times that they were going to buy the house from me.  I've never had any discussion about the house being available for sale.

The comments about needing new carpet and buying the house makes me worried that the tenant is intentionally sabotaging the property to get "free" repairs in the hopes that they will eventually own the home.

How would you proceed at this point? I don't have any concrete proof as it's a bit of a he said, she said thing with the contractor and tenant but I have a good relationship with this contractor and carpet damage seems like a petty thing to deny damaging.  In fact, they damaged some wiring during the floor repair and fixed it, no questions asked, but balked at the carpet damage.

Thanks in advance.

Elizabeth Colegrove · Answer

Honestly I get these types of questions even from tenants who have no desire to ever buy the house. The first thing I have done is get VERY familiar with the local laws. This way I know what is required and not required. You would be surprised how many times THAT has saved me!

Next I have a 38 addendum lease (

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/10/17/38-addendums-battle-ready-lease/) this outlines everything al of my expectations. One of the big things is that this is AS/IS.

Lastly I have learned to not only up hold my lease but say NO. This has been key! I have found that once they get an inch they will take a mile. Honestly this is not just tenant behavior but human behavior. Everyone wants the best situation. So if they plan on buying the house, the more work you do the less they have to do.

While you can't do number two right now, it sounds like you need to do number 3 after you know your laws. I tell my tenant no on carpet and other stuff all the time. Good luck!

Marcia Maynard · Answer

Good points and suggestions by @Dustin Heiner.

@Tyson S. How well do you know the tenant? Hopefully you did a thorough tenant screening prior to renting. If not, do it now.  Perhaps there is something in his past that will show his character and M.O.

How long have you owned the property and how well do you know it's current condition? Did you do a thorough move-in condition report and get the tenant's sign-off on that? If not, do it now. You should not have excessive repair requests if the property is well-maintained. It is common to get more requests at the beginning of tenancy as a tenant settles in. Address each request respectfully and thoughtfully, but be clear about what you will and will not do.

Do have a procedure in place for periodic property maintenance inspections. Make sure your rental agreement sets that expectation. Make sure everything you do is in alignment with landlord-tenant law for your jurisdiction.

Discern between legitimate maintenance/repair requests and those that are more about tenant "wants" vs "needs." Address necessary items. Respond with "We are not prepared to do that" when the tenant asks for something unreasonable. If they become too needy or pushy or complain about it, let them know... "Perhaps this is not the best fit for you, as this is what we are offering. If you want something different, then you may need look for another place."

Dustin Heiner · Answer

Hi Tyson,

That is an interesting situation you may be in.

If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do:

• Check with the local laws regarding your rights as a landlord. It may be a good idea to contact an attorney to get their legal advise on how to proceed.
• Look over your lease to see if there is a provision for you to inspect the property. Hopefully there is and you will be able to inspect it when you are concerned.
• Document everything regarding the property. Conversations with the tenant, contractors, neighbors, etc. Document (with pictures) the inside of the home and it's current condition.  Have the contractors take pictures before they start and after they are finished with the area along with pictures of the progress.
• Have a conversation with the tenant about the carpet issue.  Let them know the contract does not believe he caused the problem. Let the tenant know that you are going to require documentation and pictures of  all future work the contractors do. Make sure the tenant knows this is  to protect them.  Make them feel you are on their side (even if you are not).  
• Also, discuss with the tenant how the contractor stated they were planning on buying the property.  See how they respond. If they deny it, reassure them that you are not selling it and it is a long term investment. If they acknowledge it, let them know you are not selling.

I hope it goes well for you!

Dustin

Tyson S. · Answer

Thanks for the suggestions everyone, very good points.

@Dustin Heiner Requesting the contractor to take before and after photos is an excellent idea. I think the contractor themselves are a bit weary of this tenant and being accused of doing damage so it would be beneficial to both of us.

We do have provisions to do inspections but haven't been good at doing them.

@Marcia Maynard I've owned it a little more than 5 years now.  The screening went well.  They had a fairy long rental history with good references and good income. They may be trying to test the waters with me at this point. I have said no to other requests so far and they have pretty much dropped the request so I think I will begin to take a harder stance on some of these issues.

We did a move-in condition report and the tenant actually reported no existing problems.  The tricky part is determining what has been damaged by the tenant and what has stopped working since they've moved in.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

@Tyson S. That's great! So, you probably know quite a bit about the property after holding it for five years and doing the move-in condition report. We don't mind at all when a tenant brings to our attention real repair needs and keeps us on our toes regarding maintenance items. But if the requests become unreasonable, we need to guide the tenant back to reality of what we will and won't do. Sounds like you are on the right track. Once the tenant's expectations are in line with yours, you should be fine. Some tenants need a little more education and training at the start than others. That's where a good rental/lease agreement becomes key, as well as a good set of property rules. We just adopted the 3-3-3 strategy. Three days after move-in we check in with the tenant, then again at three weeks, and again at three months. From then on, it's twice a year, unless something comes up. Good luck!

Tenant subtly damaging property?

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