I’m Landlord. Evicting Sub Tenant

[Derek Gilbert]

I have a renter in one of my rental properties. She’s great. Someone has moved in with her and is either subletting it or not paying rent. This person is a leach to me Bc I just fired them from a business of mine. Somehow he figured out I had this house and no telling the story he told them to move in. So I want to evict him. However I don’t want to evict the one that was originally living there. Unless she wants to go then that’s fine and I will put someone else in there altogether. But for this question I’m focusing on the second person. My lease specifically says 1 person will be living in the house and no more. Also it says no subletting. What are my options to get rid of this guy?

[Robert LaPrelle]

In situations like this, I always recommend talking to a lawyer. I can talk about how things work in my town and state, but it can vary wildly.

That being said, my first step would be to notify your tenant that you have become aware that they are in violation of the terms of the lease and that they either need to comply or vacate.

I do have to say that, knowing only what you have mentioned above, I (personally) would not take action at this time. A good tenant is a valuable commodity and I would not want to risk losing them. I might step up inspections to make sure that my house is being taken care of, but I would work hard to keep my disagreement with a former employee from spoiling my relationship with a valued tenant. Of course, everything above might be simple ignorance since there's a lot I don't know (ie maybe your fired them for selling drugs). Just my two cents.