Guests staying for longer than 2 weeks

[Nathan Churchill]

Hello, BP! I have new tenants moving into a unit in a couple of weeks. I had them review the lease terms and they had a question about a policy that anyone living on the property for more than 2 weeks will need to fill out an application. They're a young couple and her younger brother may need to stay with them for a few weeks after her mom has some surgery. I'm unsure of the younger brother's age, but assuming he's at least 18 I plan to have him fill out an application just so I have his information.

I have two questions. How do you guys handle these situations? Would you require a background check (which would cost my tenants money) or is an application enough? Also, what potential legal ramifications could arise by mishandling this? For now all I can think of is if he lives there for, say 6 weeks, and then the leased tenants leave for whatever reason. Would I have difficulty now because it's his "home" and he's not under a lease? This is unlikely to happen, but I still want to make sure I cover myself. Any advice is appreciated!

[Peter MacKercher]

@Nathan Churchill Joe is on the right track here, and I'd encourage you to stick to the letter of the lease on this one. Their asking means they want to know the rules and procedures, and that's a good tenant trait.

This may initially sound like a negative conversation to have (you're essentially saying "No" to a tenant, and if you're new to landlording that can feel uncomfortable). In reality it's an opportunity to emphasize that you prioritize tenant's safety and want to know, where and when reasonable, who is living and staying at the property. If they are tenants worth having they'll understand and appreciate that, and, more importantly, comply with the lease terms. You can offer a discounted application fee for this situation as you're really only wanting to run criminal screening and therefore won't need to spend time going through references.

While it's great that they're asking, I'd expect that the most likely outcome is that they have him stay, the brother stays however long, then leaves. If you were to discover that the brother was there and it was creating a problem you'd post a notice to remedy as with any other issue. 

Worst case scenario: the brother stays, causes issues, actual tenants leave. If the tenants haven't properly given notice and just abandon the property you may be stuck with a different legal proceeding (eviction vs. whatever statutory proceeding you have for abandoned property)  and then the squatter would be evicted in that legal process (eviction letters often have "To all persons residing at..." as a catch-all). Dealing with abandoned properties without any squatters, at least here in St. Louis, is a quicker and easier process, but your laws may be different.