All Forum Posts by: Vanessa S.

Hello fellow members- I have a problematic tenant who pays on time but has created other issues with noise and guests and now, a broken window! In my 20 years of being a landlord for a few properties, I have never encountered this. I don't live nearby so I have neighbors who watch my property. One of my neighbors reported to me that she noticed a broken window earlier this week and she will be taking a photo for me for photographic evidence. I have also been a board member for 20 years for this community and I have NEVER encountered a broken window by any of the resident owners for any reason. Thus, my hunch is the tenant broke the window. What do you suggest I do in terms of approaching this tenant about the broken window? She hasn't reported anything to me so she may be playing dumb and then blame this on something else other than admit fault. I just want to cover my bases with a plan of action. In the perfect scenario, she will offer to pay for it and all is good. But, she has a history of denying fault (eg: noise with guests and smoking) so I want to approach it with caution. Any insight or advice is appreciated! Thank you in advance. 

BTW, her lease ends the start of February so I'm almost done with her and her issues. 

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a nice winter holiday!

Hello everyone- My current tenant’s lease is up soon and she is wanting to renew for another year. The only advantage of extending the lease is the tenant has paid on time every month. In fact, she pays early. As a precaution, I contacted my neighbors to get feedback since I live out of town. Here are the complaints from neighbors: the tenant’s “guest” lives there full time, the “guest” is extremely loud (plays video games and yells loudly when watching football) and smokes marijuana (violation of the lease). The tenant is very kind, quiet and respectful but it is her “guest” that is not. I wish my neighbors complained to me earlier about this but according to them, this has been ongoing. (Why do neighbors stay mum on stuff like this?!!) I had given the tenant a warning about this “guest” back in March 2020 but to my surprise, it seems she ignored me. My neighbors didn’t complain after that so I assumed all was well. 
Here is my issue: I will have an urgent health issue requiring surgery and treatment. Treatment could last a year. Out of convenience, I was contemplating keeping my tenant since she pays rent on time. She never complains nor contacts me. I wanted to focus on my health without adding another stress in my life by finding a new tenant. 
However, it is obvious it is her “guest” that is the problem, not her. The lease was a year long and transitions to month-to-month after that. I was going to keep it month-to-month until I find a new tenant but then my health issue arose. 

The good news is a friend referred a coworker to me who seems to be a good fit. I have sent her photos of the interior and exterior of the rental and so far, she likes it. The problem is trying to show the property to her while it is occupied by the current tenant. If the “guest” has been smoking, it is likely to stink of smoke. 

At this point, anyone is better than my current tenant who has a “guest” who stays all day and smokes and plays video games loudly.

If it weren’t for my health issue, I’d find a replacement tenant in an instant. I know I’m not guaranteed the perfect replacement tenant either with this referral I have. 

So…what would you do? I’d appreciate any and all feedback. Again, if my health was fine, I’d know exactly what to do. But, I have major surgery soon and then treatments after likely to last a year. Not sure how much I can handle with finding a new tenant from scratch, assuming the referral doesn’t work out.

Thank you in advance! so sorry this post was so lengthy. Wanted to cover the details. Thanks for reading and helping with your input. 

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback!

I had a phone conversation with the tenant who denied having a guest who smoked, cigarettes or otherwise. She admitted the video gaming might be loud and said she would turn down the volume. I reminded her the property has shared walls so it’s something everyone needs to be aware of.

As to the denial of having a guest who smokes, I reminded her of the lease agreement clauses speaking to smoking being prohibited and the fact that the tenancy can be terminated if her guest is in violation of the lease agreement,

It was a friendly call as I didn’t want to be antagonistic about this...yet. I informed her these are complaints coming from more than one neighbor and having been a long time owner/landlord, my neighbors and I have a long standing relationship.

At this point, she knows I am onto her and her guest’s antics and I won’t tolerate it from a health standpoint with the drifting second hand smoke.

So, that’s the update there. I hope this is the first and last time this will be an issue.

@Theresa Harris Thank you! What method of communication would you suggest? A phone call first followed by a follow up email?

Hello everyone- I thought I found a great tenant but my upstairs neighbors have complained that the tenant’s guest smokes cigarettes and marijuana in the patio and the smoke drifts up into their unit. Per my rental agreement, there is a clause that specifically says “smoking and drug use are prohibited.” It further states that if the tenant or tenant’s guests are in violation of the rental agreement, this is grounds for termination.

Furthermore, the upstairs neighbors says the same guest of the tenant plays video games really loudly and they can hear the noise from that.

These complaints relate to the guest and not the tenant. The tenant herself is extremely nice and met all of my criteria when I screened her. The issues lie with her guest.

I’ve never encountered a tenant blatantly violating the rental agreement with smoking. I realize her argument will be the smoking takes place outside but my issue with that is the smoke and its odor can be brought in through clothing, hair and if the windows of the building are opened.

How would you proceed with this? What steps should be taken to ensure a swift resolution?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for everyone’s helpful input and feedback! How would you communicate this to the Tenant? Via writing? I would prefer in writing as to document the situation for my file.

I own a downstairs condo which I rent out. The upstairs neighbor complained of hearing loud noise from the TV very late at night from my tenants back in 2016. I informed my tenants of this and they were very compliant to turning their volume down when watching tv late at night. I received another complaint about this from the upstairs neighbor again yesterday. They are now complaining of the loud volume that occurs during the day as well as late evening, enough to disrupt their sleep. They attempted to knock on the door of my tenants when this occurred but the tenants did not answer the door. I have never had an issue with this with previous tenants nor when I lived there. I have had the same upstairs neighbors the entire time. Any thoughts as to how to proceed? My property is in a highly desirable area so finding new tenants would not be an issue. Any input is greatly appreciated. This is my first time dealing with this issue.

Once again, I appreciate all the informative feedback from all that replied! I did provide a 60 day notice (65 days for the mailed notice) per CA law. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond- this has been so helpful for current situation and good material for future handling of tenants with my other property.

Thanks to all for your feedback and I see your differing points and reasons for each! It helps to receive your valued opinions so I can make a more informed decision. Now for another question- the 1 year rental agreement ended back in 2016 so we've been month-to-month since then. Any insight as to whether or not I should just keep this month-to-month agreement or have them sign for a longer duration?

Hello everyone, I have been charging my tenants the same rental amount since they moved in back in April 2015. After surveying rental prices in the area, it is time to increase the rent to keep up with the current market value. I recently sent a letter both certified and via snail mail notifying them of the 16% increase in rent. My tenants are trying to negotiate down the increase. Per my research of comparable properties of the same size, I am asking for a fair rental amount. In fact, the amount I am increasing it to is less than what is listed on rentals in the same neighborhood per Craigslist. These tenants pay on time but they are complainers about the smallest of items- which is why I wouldn't be too upset about losing them if they choose to part ways. My property is in a very desirable area so finding new tenants who would pay the new rental amount would be easy. My question- Should I stick firmly to my proposed rental increase of 16% or offer a slightly lesser amount, e.g.: $50 less? Thanks in advance!!