month to month tenant situation

[Fred Smith]

Hello everyone, I have a rental property occupied by a tenant and child. We started

with a one year lease and have been month to month for about a year after that.

Last month, the tenant demanded that $200 be deducted from the rent(to compensate

for thawed food) because the freezer wasn't working properly. When I went to check

on the fridge on the same day, I saw it is operating fine after a quick inspection.

When I went there, I noticed that the renter's significant other with another child

moved in without notifying me. Public records show that the new adult is already

using my property as their mailing address.

If the repair guy finds nothing wrong with the fridge can I deduct $200 from the

tenant's security deposit? Tenant has been on time with monthly payments. What are

my options right now? Should I find a new tenant? or should I raise their rent and start a new

lease?

Thanks,

Fred

[Matthew Olszak]

@Fred Smith The firm/local answers will depend on where your rental is located, because some municipalities have crazy landlord-tenant laws.

In general, it'll be easiest to give notice that you are ending the MTM lease and they need to vacate within the statutorily required period. That way you aren't arguing over if the fridge works or not, or whether there is an unauthorized tenant living in the unit (100% of the time they'll say the person was "just visiting"). That's the beauty of a MTM lease, you don't have to prove anything in most cases, just that you are terminating their tenancy.