Inheriting a tenant living in deplorable conditions

[Jessica D'Amour]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the BiggerPockets website, and I have been listening to the podcasts for a couple months now. My husband and I bought our first investment property in June 2015, a 3-unit house in Buffalo, NY which we live in and rent the other 2 units and things have been going great so far! Our goal is to purchase a second investment property this year.

We are looking at a 4-unit house nearby which needs some work. When we toured the property, we saw that the condition of one of the units was what I would consider unlivable- extremely dirty, holes in the walls and ceiling where the plaster fell off, bathroom was absolutely disgusting and barely usable, junk everywhere. And someone is living there! According to the current owner, this tenant is happy staying and paying his lower rent. We did not meet this tenant but my understanding is he is an older gentleman.

My question is, what kind of liability would the landlord have for something like this? In order to fix this unit, it would likely be a total gut, requiring the tenant to vacate for renovations. What if the tenant refuses to allow us to fix the place, then raise the rent accordingly? If it's his choice to continue living in these conditions, then something happens to him, could he or his family sue the landlord?

I would appreciate any input! Thanks!