Section 8 tenant that is breaking the lease

[Sean Thompson]

Hey all! My wife and I have a duplex that we rent here in Kansas City. On one side of the duplex, we rent to a Section 8 tenant. We have run into a bit of an issue.

The tenant is a single woman, around 55 years old. The issue that we are having is that she has been in the unit for 3 months now, and has yet to change the water bill into her name. We have repeatedly reminded her that she needs to get the water bill put into her name. The last few months, we have been simply forwarding the water bill to her and she has been paying us the amount of the water bill. A few weeks ago we firmly told her that she needs to have the water bill changed into her name by June 1st, no exceptions. 

Our concern is that she may accidentally run the water bill up to a few hundred dollars and then tell us she is unable to pay it. The lease clearly states that the tenant is required to get all bills changed into their name. 

The other issue (though not as major) is that she recently asked us when we would be sending someone by to mow the lawn. We reminded her that before she had moved in, we told her that she would have to be taking care of the lawn. We also emailed her the digital copy of the lease that she signed, and highlighted the part that states "the tenant is responsible for the upkeep of the lawn... etc". 

Her response was "oh, well I must have overlooked that when I signed the lease. I don't make enough to pay someone to do it, and since I am on disability, I can't do it myself. I will not be mowing the lawn."

These are only two of the many issues that we have had with this tenant, and frankly, we are fed up. We have tried contacting the local Section 8 office to try and find out how to proceed with evicting the tenant. Unfortunately, after 3 weeks and over 6 phone messages, we have yet to get any response from them. 

How do we proceed from here?

[Andreas W.]

@Sean Thompson

You got great advice from landlords in your jurisdiction. I would add a little strategy to what @Jason Moore has said. Your tenant seems to want 2 things from you. First, you prepay her water and she is fine with reimbursing you. Second, she wants nothing to do with lawn care. Tackle the water issue first and agree to prepay the bill since you would end up doing it anyway if the tenant doesn't pay. But put this new arrangement into an addendum to the lease so that in case the tenant stops reimbursing you, it is a lease violation and grounds for eviction. If you keep on paying her bill without the addendum, you open the door for her to accept it as a landlord service. That makes a big difference in front of the magistrate. Once she has signed the water bill addendum, you are free to solve the lawn issue the way that suits you best. Whatever you decide to do, your tenant cannot withhold the water payment to you as leverage without risking eviction and loss of voucher.