About a year ago I (landlord) decided to repair a deck to one of my rental units that needed repair. I chose to do this myself with help from my father who volunteered to help. We have had a troubled relationship for years and this was his way of mending it and spending some father-son time together. One of the strains to our relationship is his poor life choices. He has been convicted of multiple felonies over his life mostly related to drug use. I will add, none of his felonies were violent in nature.
Talking to the renters, I requested permission for both of us to enter the property to use the bathroom as needed while we repaired the deck. The renters consented without any objection. It did not cross my mind to inform them of my dad's criminal past. After a week, the deck repair turned into a full replacement. Once we finished, we left with very grateful renters and no issues arising during our stay.
During our visit, I noticed significant damage to the yard along the driveway due to the renter's vehicles constantly driving on the grass. Driving on the grass is prohibited according to the house rules on the lease. Long story short, I hired a landscaper to repair the damages and sent the bill to the renters.
The day that the repair bill was due, I got a call from the renter. Up to this point, I did not have one single response relating to the yard repair. The renter was very upset that they were being held responsible for the yard because they believed they were not responsible. During this conversation, the renter brought up that while my father was at the property, I failed to inform them that my father was a convicted felon. They said that they were upset that I did not disclose this information to them prior to having him on the property. While this had nothing to do about the yard repair, this event was brought up for the first time. I suspect that they were honestly upset about this and it finally came out or they were using it to persuade me to eat the repair costs, or a little of both. In the end, they paid for the repair.
To this day, this event bothers me. Was I wrong for not telling the renter's that someone who was used to perform work on a property had a criminal record? This man is my dad after all, I am not proud of disclosing my father's criminal history. Telling a renter this might put them into a very awkward situation, especially if they say that the landlord's father is not welcomed on the property. Am I legally required to disclose this information in the future? If a company hires convicted felons, are they required to disclose this to their customers before they enter their homes?
I am interested to hear what others think and what you would have done if you were in my place.
