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Updated about 14 hours ago on . Most recent reply
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Raise Rent On Tenant for Unauthorized Subletting?
I completed an annual inspection at my tenant's home recently, and found that he was subletting. It is a 2 bed, 1 bath house, in which he is subletting to at least 3 or 4 other people. He installed doors on the living room to turn it into an extra bedroom. This was all without my knowledge or permission. His lease clearly states no subletting. Obviously I have grounds to terminate the lease, but I'm wondering if legally I can just increase his rent to cover the extra wear and tear. My concern is this may be considered retaliation, but really its just that all these people are wearing the property down. He is month-to-month. I'm wondering if I raise the rent without getting in a bind? And should I state this as a reason as to why his rent is being raised.
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Quote from @Lexi Blocksom:
I completed an annual inspection at my tenant's home recently, and found that he was subletting. It is a 2 bed, 1 bath house, in which he is subletting to at least 3 or 4 other people. He installed doors on the living room to turn it into an extra bedroom. This was all without my knowledge or permission. His lease clearly states no subletting. Obviously I have grounds to terminate the lease, but I'm wondering if legally I can just increase his rent to cover the extra wear and tear. My concern is this may be considered retaliation, but really its just that all these people are wearing the property down. He is month-to-month. I'm wondering if I raise the rent without getting in a bind? And should I state this as a reason as to why his rent is being raised.
Evict immediately. Otherwise you are asking for trouble. This is not a level-of-rent issue. This is a serious breach of contract issue. Go after the original tenant for excessive wear and tear, also.