Tenant has been smoking inside... can I keep all of the deposit?

Question

Hello BP,

I was at my rental house this morning making a repair.  The house smells so strongly of cigarettes that I still smell like an ash tray after spending less than 30 minutes inside.  The tenant is fully aware that there is NO smoking inside.  He has been there for about 6 years.  The house needs a fair amount of work because the lack of his cleanliness.  New carpets and paint is a 100% must, especially after the cigarettes.

Am I allowed to keep all of his damage deposit specifically for smoking if I choose not to renew his lease that is up 3/31/19?

Anthony Wick · Answer

This reminds me.....it's time for my 6 month "furnace filter and smoke alarm" testing in my units. This would naturally require a full walk through of all my units to ensure tenant safety.

Dennis M. · Answer

I’d just Keep making money off the guy . As already said the damage is done . When he moves out or they drag his corpse away .. then you can use kilz primer on the place and rent an ozone machine to rid of the stench

Nathan Gesner · Answer

If he pays rent on time and isn't causing further damage, keep him until he dies or leaves. You'll have to gut the place anyway. Why go through all that trouble an possibly replace him with another smoker or someone that causes new problems? He's been OK for six years and the damage is done. As long as his other "lack of cleanliness" problems are not damaging the property, I would tell him he can stay and continue smoking inside to his heart's content for a 10% increase in rent or whatever he can handle. Then set that increase aside to help pay for new flooring and paint when he finally leaves. Odds are pretty good that he'll stick around a long time because moving is expensive and he's unlikely to find another place that allows him to smoke inside.

Before you flip out, I bought an apartment complex that had a smoker living in one apartment for 30 years. He was retired and didn't work and was a heavy smoker. The walls literally glowed yellow and after 15 minutes in the place I felt like I had smoked a pack of cigarettes myself (former smoker and this is not an exaggeration). The previous Landlord had never painted or replaced the flooring so it was 30 years of damage. I had the place steam cleaned by a carpet cleaning company, I pulled the flooring, I put in new flooring, I painted the walls with an oil-based Kilz primer, and then I painted the walls with a satin latex paint. It smells brand new.

Even if you decide to kick this guy out, you can't legally keep his entire deposit without justification. Do the cleaning, make the repairs, and charge the tenant honestly and fairly.

Todd Rasmussen · Answer

I think new paint and carpets will solve the smoke problem and after six years I think you are going to have a hard time arguing that you wouldn't need to do that anyway for normal wear and tear. My opinion is that the damage is done and keep renewing lease to delay how long you have to put money into the property and avoid a vacancy.

Todd

Matt Gilroy · Answer

Great information, thank you everyone for the replies.  If he wants to stay another year, I'll renew the lease.  At this point, I'm not sure he is staying - he's given me notice that he will be leaving because he's buying a place.  That said, the last two years he has said he was buying a house and then ended up staying.

Jennifer Rysdam · Answer

At this point the damage is done. Turnover is going to cost a lot and be a pain. I had a chain smoker in my building when I bought it. He had been smoking in there for 25 years. The ceilings and walls were almost brown. Kilzing and painting the entire place, floor to ceiling, was a pain and expensive. I also had to kilz and paint the inside and outside of the cabinets to remove the smell, and all of the trim, doors, etc. All flooring had to be replaced. The fridge even had to be replaced because I couldn't get rid of the smell. Needless to say, this is now one of my nicest and most popular units :)Let him stay and continue to pay you back for all of his damage.Also, this is a good reminder to do inspections every 6 months. If you could've stopped this right away and prevented so much damage, you would've saved a lot of money and time.

Jennifer Rysdam · Answer

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James Hendrickson · Answer

I would kick his rent up significantly.  You can make back more than the deposit amount pretty quick.  I would also tell him why the rent went up because he broke the lease terms.  Do a detailed property inspection and amend the lease as well detailing the repair costs.  He can stay and pay or get out and you keep the deposit.  If you put the no smoking clause in the lease, he is doomed.

Tenant has been smoking inside... can I keep all of the deposit?

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