New landlord with inherited tenants - what to do?

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New landlord with inherited tenants - what to do?

Tracey G.
Accountant · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 29 votes

We just bought a a house last month in a college town that has three young 20's tenants. They will be our tenants until next May 31, when their lease ends. (This is about two hours away where our son goes to school.) Went to do some maintenance yesterday and saw some issues:

They have acquired a cat, against the terms of the lease. We are willing to allow them to keep it but want additional rent and security. However, they already have the full allowed amount of security (one month) on deposit. How can we get additional security if it will exceed the state (Delaware) limit? Go with a non-refundable app fee instead? Any other pet add-on advice is appreciated.

They are smoking on the patio, also expressly against the lease terms.

They are into organic gardening, which is fine, but has resulting in a bit of a swarm of fruit flies in the dining area. Definitely a new problem, they weren't there when we purchased or the last time we went back.

Looking for advice on how to handle these issues. My contact is one of the tenants and we generally email. Should I email her, send the three of them a letter, get them on a phone call to discuss and then send a letter to follow up? They are generally good tenants and we do not want to get into an eviction situation.

Thanks for any advice.

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John Humphries
Dover, DE · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 14 votes
9y

@Tracey G.,

Where in DE did you buy?

In Delaware, a regular security deposit can only be a maximum of one month's rent, as you said. However, a pet deposit is considered a separate issue altogether. You can either tell them you need an additional month's worth of deposit, a non refundable pet fee, or increased rent (or a combination of the above). They are technically in violation of their current lease, so you can send them a notice to remedy (get rid of cat) or face eviction, or they can agree to a pet addendum with whatever terms you can work out.

If they are smoking only on the patio, but not inside (and are doing a good job of containing it on the patio), you might want to just let it slide. With inherited tenants you can either choose your battles, or evict them and place tenants you screen properly. In my triplex, one apartment contains a group of inherited twenty-somethings that have a cat against their lease, smoke on the patio, and also single-handedly pay all of my holding costs. I'm opting to leave them alone until they move out by choice.

The fruit flies, again, may not be a big enough issue to really crack down on them. It is natural for your feathers to get rustled when you see your tenants not taking care of your new property the way you want them to, but you also have to weigh the amount of damage an issue could cause vs. the amount of effort it will take to remedy said issue. I have never known fruit flies to do much damage on their own, and they aren't hard to get rid of when it comes time to turnover the unit.

My advice would be to get them to sign a pet addendum if you feel that strongly about it, and then coast until the sixty day window before their lease expires. At that point you can either inform them that you are not renewing their lease at all, or you can inform them that you are renewing their lease on the condition that they sign and abide by YOUR lease, rather than whatever lease they are currently on.

Best of luck!!!

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  • David S.
    Bloomington, IL · Member since 2017 · 16 posts · 7 votes
    9y

    I would try first contacting the woman you normally speak with; let her know that she's responsible for everyone's actions since she's on the lease, and that it's in her best interest to have a group chat with them so they understand the rules. Since cats aren't on the lease, perhaps present two options so they can choose. Option A) pay more per month. Option B) pay a one time pet fee. Just examples...offering multiple options sometimes lets the other party feel like they have a bit of say in the outcome of the situation. If you seek a pet fee, then make sure the lease is amended to show that they broke the no pet rule, and it was resolved by adding a pet fee or something similar.

    Worst case, document everything and take photos when you stop by for maintenance. Upon moving out you'll have proof and reason to hold their deposit if those issues amount to damages.

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  • Thomas S.
    Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    9y

    I would send them notice of three violations.

    1) lease says no pets...get rid of the cat before it destroys the property.

    2) stop smoking on the property or face eviction, offer to release any smokers from the lease.

    3) cure the insect infestation immediately.

    Inform them you will me making regular inspection visits and expect the issue to be resolved.

    Your other option, if you have no desire to inforce your lease is to tear it up and write a new one that you do intend to inforce. Your present lease is voided if you do not inforce all clauses.

    Why bother having a lease at all if you are going to allow your tenants to do what ever they choose with your property. At this point you are headed down a very dangerous path by not bothering to train your tenants.

    I will bet you will be back on here in the near future with major tenant management issues.

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  • John Humphries
    Dover, DE · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 14 votes
    9y

    @Tracey G.,

    Where in DE did you buy?

    In Delaware, a regular security deposit can only be a maximum of one month's rent, as you said. However, a pet deposit is considered a separate issue altogether. You can either tell them you need an additional month's worth of deposit, a non refundable pet fee, or increased rent (or a combination of the above). They are technically in violation of their current lease, so you can send them a notice to remedy (get rid of cat) or face eviction, or they can agree to a pet addendum with whatever terms you can work out.

    If they are smoking only on the patio, but not inside (and are doing a good job of containing it on the patio), you might want to just let it slide. With inherited tenants you can either choose your battles, or evict them and place tenants you screen properly. In my triplex, one apartment contains a group of inherited twenty-somethings that have a cat against their lease, smoke on the patio, and also single-handedly pay all of my holding costs. I'm opting to leave them alone until they move out by choice.

    The fruit flies, again, may not be a big enough issue to really crack down on them. It is natural for your feathers to get rustled when you see your tenants not taking care of your new property the way you want them to, but you also have to weigh the amount of damage an issue could cause vs. the amount of effort it will take to remedy said issue. I have never known fruit flies to do much damage on their own, and they aren't hard to get rid of when it comes time to turnover the unit.

    My advice would be to get them to sign a pet addendum if you feel that strongly about it, and then coast until the sixty day window before their lease expires. At that point you can either inform them that you are not renewing their lease at all, or you can inform them that you are renewing their lease on the condition that they sign and abide by YOUR lease, rather than whatever lease they are currently on.

    Best of luck!!!

    2Reply
  • Tracey G.
    OP
    Accountant · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 29 votes
    9y

    @John Humphries  The house is in Newark, near UD. We know will not be renewing the lease (which expires May 31) because we purchased it for our son, a UD student, to live in with tenants/friends of his choice so we will be in control next year. With only 8 months left, we don't want to end up with the current tenants out because then it would be vacant for months. So as you said, you have to pick your battles. I spoke to two neighbors yesterday and they both said they never have a problem with the tenants causing any trouble, so that is a good sign as UD can be quite the party school.

    Thanks for the info on the security, that's what I needed to know most of all. We are ok with an addendum and additional security/rent as it is a short term situation. As far as the smoking, for several reasons I do think they are only smoking outside. And similar to you, they are paying our costs plus funding the upgrades we plan to make after they leave. Your advice is much appreciated!

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  • Tracey G.
    OP
    Accountant · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 74 posts · 29 votes
    9y

    @David S. Thanks for the advice. I did take photos of the pet food/cat litter for proof since we didn't actually see the cat. All three tenants are on the lease, but she is the one I have the email for so I have to go through her. Presenting options is a good idea, thanks.

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  • John Humphries
    Dover, DE · Member since 2016 · 32 posts · 14 votes
    9y

    @Tracey G. Any time, glad I could help! The nice thing about a pet deposit is that in Delaware you are actually able to use the pet deposit to cover non-pet related damages if the security deposit isn't enough to cover them.

    Newark is a great area, though I've heard that it can be hard to invest there due to strict local laws. Do you plan to buy more properties there, or was this just a one-time thing for while your son is living there?

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