All Forum Posts by: Daniel Meyer

Hi good people. I have a tenant that I inherited when I purchased my current building. She has been in her unit since 2011. There is no lease that was shared with me when I purchased the building. The tenant was grandfathered in. 

I want to increase her rent and charge her for 2 pets that she has acquired during this past year without informing me. Since I do not have a lease I am unsure of how to proceed. How many days does she legally have before I increase the rent? Given that I may have to provide her at least 120 days before a rent increase, can I charge her the pet free before the 120 days? 

Thank you for your time! 

Daniel 

@Tom Casey Thank you for this information. I will look at what you shared.

Are there specific questions you ask when screening for tenants?

Hi everyone! I have some questions about leases. 

We bought a 3 unit last year; they were all rented out and did not have to deal with leases. Now, one of the units is up for renewal. I do not want to renew the unit to the current tenant because she is SUPER NEEDY.  

What clauses do you all add in your leases? The leases that the previous owner used are very basic with no added clauses. Because of this, my experience with the needy tenant has been horrible. 

Some examples of what we have gone through this year with her: 

1. Exterminator - She was not happy with the one we used and asked multiple time to get a different one because according to her the chemicals were not aggressive enough to kill the ants, spiders, and millipedes. She then demanded that we caulk the baseboards because the ants from coming from the baseboard. 

2. Laundry- Each unit has a in unit laundry. The laundry machine broke and I am currently replacing it. According to the technician it is due to overuse/misuse. When I stated this to the needy tenant she said that she had complained about this to the previous owner but it was never replaced. 

3. Fridge- She claims the fridge does not cool her food properly. I sent someone to take a look and according to him it is fine, but she keeps insisting on getting it replaced. 

4. Windows- She wants me to change the window screens because there are holes in them. I probably will do that once she is out but should she not have complained about this when she rented the unit? 

These are just a few examples of what I have had to deal with. 

I want to address the following in the lease and would appreciate any clauses you all have used in your leases: 

1. After a walk thorough- how long do you give tenants to ask for repairs? 

2. What do you all do about fixes? Do you have the tenant pay a certain amount whenever they request a fix?

3. Exterminator 

 I know what I have listed is not a complete list and I probably have overlooked many aspects. Any other items you add to your lease to reduce any confusion later? 

Thank you all for reading this post.