Renters have adult children always there, not on the lease.

[Erik Nosich]

Hey all, I have a situation that I need some advice on. I have an older couple (late 50's) that are themselves, great tenants. Always pay on time, great communication, and keep the place clean. They have an adult son and daughter in law that are there all the time. In September, I confronted them about it, they admitted the son and his wife were living there, and I gave them a few choices, and they decided the son and daughter would move out. They were gone one month and moved back in (I am told). They don't know I spoke to neighbor and the neighbor stated to me that the mother said they had a housesitting job for that month and so they moved back in when that ended. We confronted them today, and the mother stated that her son was in an accident 5 years ago and his doctor said he had to stay with someone to watch him, and he couldn't be alone. The renter further stated that he comes to the house every weekday, stays from 8-8 and often stays the night. She said that they have a lease for a place in the next town over, and she would provide a copy of that. There was no bedding or extra clothing that could be easily seen while we were there. It should be mentioned that this is a duplex and there seems to be a bit of bad blood between the renters and the other renter is my source for this info. The mother and father are the only ones on the lease. The question I have is what constitutes "living" at a location? What recourse, if any, do I have? Any advice would help. Thank you in advance for your help!

[Lora P.]

Do you have anything like the below in your lease? If not, it may be a good idea to add for the future.

"Occupancy by other persons for more than seven consecutive days and more than two occasions in any month is prohibited without Landlord’s written consent and shall be considered a breach of this Agreement."