Hi all!
I have an inherited tenant living next to me in a side by side duplex since I moved into in January. She lives there with her 30 year old daughter and 16 year old niece. She seemed to be a good tenant at first and kept the place in good shape, but then this guy started staying there almost every night. Near the end of February is when her old lease ended with the previous owner, so while I was getting her new lease ready I asked her if she has another person living there now and needed to be added to the new lease. She said no, he has his own place.
Well now he's been staying there nearly every night since then, is there 24/7 (before the quarantine happened) so I don't think he has a job. I've had to go in there a couple times for maintenance issues, and since he's been staying there the smell has gotten out of control. I realized he's been smoking in the house, and then overcompensates with a LOT of fragrance. When their door is open I can literally smell their house a block away it's so strong. I told her there can be no smoking and it's a violation of her lease and she just said okay. I think now he's smoking in the basement, but it's pretty hard for me to prove since I can just smell it once in a while when I'm down there.
Point is, he's an unauthorized guest and I'm not too keen on him living there. Per her lease, it states anyone wanting to live there needs to fill out an application, meet my approval criteria, pay a $100 admin fee, and rent goes up $50 per month. What I'm wondering is, since she's the one paying the rent, how does that change my normal criteria of minimum income and verified employment? So pretty much the only things I'm looking for now is no criminal history or evictions? Also, since I'm an owner occupant I've heard I can pretty much choose who lives next to me rather than following a process for fair housing laws, but it still makes me nervous. Do I even let him fill out an application if I don't want him living there? What if it comes back with no criminal history or evictions? Do I need to accept him or come up with a reason why he can't move in?
Another thing, what if I deny him and he still stays there? With the pandemic going on I know there are no evictions happening with the courts.
Sorry for the book, just wanted to make sure you guys had the full background story. I appreciate any advice!
