Quick introduction. I own a property in Austin (3 Bed 2 Bath). I was doing LTR but decided to renovate to do STR. To pay for the renovation, we did a cash out refinance. As a result, we need about 3.2k per month for mortgage + property taxes. After STR wasn't stable enough, we pivoted to Rent by the Room. With all three rooms rented, we make about 2.9k per month.

Now that you are all caught up, at the moment all three rooms are rented. Tenant James (fake name) is in the master. Two rooms are side by side. Tenant Steve (fake name) is male 30. He lost his job and his mother is currently paying for the rent. His lease ends on Dec 5th. Tenant Sophie (fake name) is female 40.

Steve moved in first. When James moved into the master, he complained about Steve playing music too loud. They worked it out mostly by having Steve move his stereo from the living room to the bedroom and he doesn’t play music when James is home. Then Sophie moved into the room next to James. Since then, she has been complaining about him playing music too loud. I tried to mediate by setting dB of 40avg and 50 peak at night and 50avg and 60peak during the day.

Sophie sends measurements of music over the established threshold and Steve complains about the validity of the app’s measurements. They disagree when they want the house cleaned as I didn’t establish house rules assuming they are adults and would figure it out. In the house group chat, Sophie asked for a rotating cleaning schedule. Steve disagreed. He would say she has mental disorders and anxiety issues in the group chat. Mostly being condescending, uncooperative and rude in a “joking” manner as he puts it.

In the past three days the issues have gotten worse. At night, he was playing his music loud again. Steve happened to come out while she was getting a reading and cussed her out. She felt threatened and called the cops as well as stating in the group chat that it was unacceptable. Steve belittled her and mocked her after the police called him. They have continued to argue over the group chat.

Friday the 19th was the final straw. Apparently, James walked over to measure the noise level and discovered Steve’s door was cracked open. At that time, he saw Steve in the adjacent bathroom with a partially opened door observing he had a knife to his own neck. James immediate reaction was that he feared Steve might be considering suicide. Rather than confronting Steve, he chose to retreat and reached out to me for advice. His mom believed it was just an innocent activity, and it was all a big misunderstanding. After James let me know and I called the cops to report Jame’s concern for Steve’s well being. Once Sophie heard about it, she packed up and left for a hotel for the night. The police determined it best to take Steve in for hospital observation. The hospital said they were not sure of his state of mind and chose to keep him for three days observation.

For additional context, we have attempted to mediate with the tenants regarding the sound issue. And I have issued Steve an official warning notice. While Steve expressed concerns about measurement metrics, I am still receiving what I believe are credible noise complaints. The issue that concerned me the most has been the level of animosity and condescending communication that has been occurring between Steve and Sophie while trying to address issues. This has been disruptive to peaceful living conditions and I was just about to send a comply or quit notice to Steve when this situation with the police and hospitalization occurred. Now my desire is to give a notice to vacate to Steve. I have run into conflicting information about whether the minimum amount of time I am required to give, 3 days versus 30 days. I would like to give him a 3-day notice to vacate if possible. Is it legal to do so? (Question 1)

My friends expressed concerns about Steve potential retaliation, maybe in ways that I might not be able to directly identify him for (e.g. causing damage to appliances in the common area and I would have no way of knowing who did it.) While I understand the concerns and are worried about it, I feel it’s probably less of a risk to let him out than to keep him in. What would you all advise? (Q2)

Another question I have is that since Steve broke the terms of the lease by affecting the other tenants’ “peaceful and quiet enjoyment of the property”, is he obligated to pay the rest of the rent even though he will be vacating the property before the end of the lease? (Q3)

Security deposit is another area that I need clarifying on. Am I obligated to return the deposit (minus any that goes to cover damages beyond normal wear and tear) even though he breaks the lease? (Q4)

I have talked to friends to consider all options as this just happened. I am reaching out to the bigger pockets community for advice. I want to give Steve a notice to vacate but am looking for more experienced input as this is my first Rent by the room eviction. If any lawyers or Rent by the room owners have time for a quick 15-20 minute chat, I would truly appreciate it.

Thanks for reading. Sorry for the lengthy post. All advice is appreciated.

Tl:DR

Rent-by-the-room tenants are unable to get along because of music being played too loud. Cops have been called twice. One tenant will leave if the other will stay. Need lawyer advice for notice to vacate and other issues.

Austin, Texas

0 Votes