Vetted Tenant Has Become A Pain

[Nick K.]

Hopefully, this post can serve as a helpful cautionary tale to anyone considering a tenant who appeared to be OK at the outset, and one the landlord did their due diligence on, but ultimately has become a pain in the butt and liability. I'll also preface that this rental is in a market that is neither hot nor cold. It takes about a month to lease to a suitable tenant.

I’d love everyone’s opinions about what you think and how you’d handle. Please forgive me for the long post.

THE PROPERTY
SFR, 2 br/1 ba, near downtown Los Angeles.

THE TENANT
~65yo single woman. Good income, $80k/yr. Had a recent past bankruptcy. Claimed her employer fired her because of an expensive healthcare claim. I went in with my eyes wide open. Did my research on bankruptcies and saw it as a slight positive, because she wouldn't be able to claim another one for another 7 years and get out of paying rent.

THE SITUATION
Move-in went fine. The tenant has been in the unit for 2.5 months.

1.5 months in – I stopped by to pick up some items and ran into the neighbor. She informed me that there had been an incident. Apparently, the tenant’s mentally ill son (who had been staying at the house illegally) trespassed into another neighbor’s property and they beat him up. They threatened both the tenant and her son that if he bothered them again, they’d do something much worse. The neighbor who told me also mentioned that the son had tried to get into her property as well, and that the older lady across the street was afraid of him because he lurked the neighborhood.

Given that I knew, the tenant had to tell me about the incident. This is when she also revealed that he has an arrest record. The situation was addressed (somewhat) and the son was shipped to a facility in northern California. The harsh reality is that the son shouldn’t have been there in the first place. He is not on the lease. If he had applied with her, I would have probably rejected them both as tenants. That being said, I empathize with her. It has to be tough having a mentally ill son and whose well-being you worry about. Still, it doesn’t give her a pass for being dishonest.

Fast-forward to present day. She has yet to pay rent on time. Both times, she paid it ~6 days late. And now she’s informed me of several items that need addressing/repair. The house is old, so there will be some things that need addressing eventually. That being said, I lived in the house a few years before I rented it out and made improvements, kept everything in very good shape, took proper care of the laminate floors, etc. Neighbors have complained about noise. She comes home late, opens the laundry room door and runs the machines through the night.

Items she’s brought up:

• A vintage doorknob came off one of the doors, so her BF took the door down off its hinges, but didn’t put it back.
• Claims that the garbage disposal doesn’t work. It’s only 3 years old and was working when she moved in.
• Informed me that the laminate is warping and lifting near the kitchen sink. It was not that way when she moved in. I informed her at move-in that the floor was laminate and should not be wet mopped or exposed to prolonged moisture. I gave her some floor cleaner so she knew what to use and told her how to clean it.
  
• Claims that there is a roach and ant problem, and nests under the shower. She has two dogs, so there are water and food dishes out. From what I can tell, she is a very messy person. I had it cleaned professional before move-in. The house smelled and looked dirty after she moved in.
  
• Says the driveway gate is more bent than it was before. Not sure why she would be saying this. It’s not something that can just get more bent all by itself.
  
• Bathroom sink now drains slow. I had replaced the entire p-trap when she moved in and there wasn’t a problem then.
  

- ONCE THE LEASE IS UP, WHAT CAN I DEDUCT WITHOUT A HASSLE OR LEGAL CHALLENGE?

- WHICH REPAIRS FALL UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TENANT? LANDLORD?

- IS IT IN MY BEST INTEREST TO JUST COVER SPRAYING FOR PESTS AND THE SLOW SINK?

- AT WHAT POINT DOES EVICTION ENTER THE CONVERSATION?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

-Nick

[Patricia Steiner]

Stop the madness!  Why is this situation okay with you?  The tenant is out-of-control because you're allowing it. This should have been ended when she was late with rent the very first month.  When we as landlords fail to enforce the lease, the tenant assumes the position of strength/control.  It's past time to take your control back.  So consider this:

The rent will be due in a couple days.  The first day it is past-due (which you know it will be - it always is) post on her door and mail another copy of (by certified mail) a Notice To Quit for Non-Payment of Rent.  This tells her "pay up or get out."  And, know this: "Legally, a tenant can pay their rent as late as the landlord allows them to. This is why it is very important that the landlord sticks to their rental agreement."

Send her a Notice To Quit for Reasons Other than Non-Payment of Rent.  Be specific.  1) No other person is allowed at the property who is not on the lease.  2) Her guests/illegal occupant have endangered others. 3) The smell of urine, damage to the flooring, and overall uncleanliness of the property is unacceptable and is in violation of the lease (I hope you have tenant responsibilities in your lease).

She has to "quit" what she's doing and correct in order to stay.  And, she will scream so be firm:  this is not working out, she has repeatedly violated the terms of her lease, and you are serving her notice of eviction.  Advise her that she is to communicate with you by email only.

And, fix your lease!  You can't change it with this tenant - the damage is done but your questions about who is responsible for what and what comes out of the security deposit indicate that you have a lease that puts it all on you.  Landlords live and die by their leases - and enforcement of them.  What's wrong with your tenant has a lot to do with what's wrong with your lease, your communication and enforcement of what is acceptable/allowable, and allowing payments to be late.

Cowboy up and start enforcing your lease. Know the landlord-tenant laws so you don't add to your turmoil and then start over with a new, stronger, clearer lease.