All Forum Posts by: Peter Chen

The owner wasn't there and just asked one of the other tenants to let the prospective owner into the house.  That person does have a key but no security deposit and no check.

Hi,

I'm sure this is a topic that most have not encountered because of basic due diligence before renting a property.  I have a homeowner who was ready to lease a room in a house to a renter and asked the renter to fill out the proper rental agreement paperwork.  The prospective renter was asked to bring the completed paperwork on the day of the move-in.  On the move-in date, the prospective renter appeared at the house and the homeowner allowed that person to move in.  After moving in, the homeowner asked for the completed rental agreement and an ID, which the prospective renter refused to provide.  Now that person refuses to leave.  

What are the suggested course of action?

Thanks!

Two things - this is a preliminary complaint to the county's Landlord-Tenant Affairs, so as of right now, we just need to respond. Secondly, another factor in the complaint - tenant threatened to sue because we could not fix a broken AC unit immediately, even though we provided tenant with rent credit of prorated daily rent for everyday the AC was not yet repaired. The AC was repaired within 10 days.  One aspect of this complaint stems from the fact the tenant was out of town when the AC failed, and requested the PM to repair before returning.  The PM replied that a repair cannot be scheduled until tenant was back or tenant have someone on premises to meet with repair tech.  Tenant complains it is not her responsibility to be at the property and it took unreasonably long to repair.  PM states it is reasonable because it is not considered an emergency repair, and tenant is responsible to be at property to meet repairman.  How long is it considered a reasonable time to repair AC unit?  Who must be at property? I must admit, I don't really know.  But, I thought I was being reasonable providing daily rent credit. 

I think that if I were dealing with this rationally and economically, I might consider returning the early termination charge.  However, I want to defend my action out of principle.  Further, this is my first responding to tenant complaint and I want to learn from this.

The complaint was sent to the property manager who forwarded it to me.   So, the property manager is fully aware.  It named both PM and the landlord.  The PM refused to respond but provided me with all the documentation.   

Complaint did give specifics.  First of the complaint states that 1/2 of the security deposit was unreasonably withheld.  The tenant had a one year lease agreement which she terminated early due to "reasonable cause beyond tenant control." This clause in the lease agreement provides that "In the event of termination under this covenant, Tenant may be liable for a reasonable termination charge not to exceed the equivalent of one (1) month's rent at the rate in effect as of the termination date, or the actual damages sustained by the Landlord, whichever is the lesser amount."  When the tenant vacated, I attempted to lease the property immediately and so far unsuccessful for over two months.  Because of this, I calculated that my actual damages were at least one month's rent.  However, I tried accommodating the tenant and decreased the early termination charge to 1/2 month's rent.  The tenant complained that this was unreasonable.

Asking for advice.  I have a former tenant who filed a complaint with the Landlord-Tenant Relations.  I have a property manager who was my agent at the time the operative facts arose, but currently is not my agent.  Is it that property manager's responsibility to respond to the complaint?  I've looked through my property management agreement and there is no mention related to this type of responsibility. Thanks for any input.

My property management contract contains a "Hold Harmless" clause which provides as follows: "Owner agrees to indemnify, defend, and save Agent harmless from all suits in connection with the leasing and managing of the Property and from liability for damage to any other Property and for injuries to or death of any person or person."

Are such clause in a property management contract fairly common?  Does this give anyone pause when negotiating such contractual agreements?

Thanks for the input.

Thank you all for the advice and thoughts. I typically handle repair issues when the tenant happens to not be in town. However this time, I was concurrently out of town also. So disappointed the PM was not able to take care of this. Now I'm giving the tenant rental concessions because the repair was not scheduled for over a week and because of the 95+ degree weather around here. Glad I have the experience of members on this forum. Will be shopping for a new PM and hopefully will not run into an issue terminating my current PM contract.

Recently our tenant reported a malfunctioning AC unit that requires repairs.  The tenant stated she was out of town for a week.  She wanted the repairs done before she comes back.  She said it was not her responsibility to meet with the repair technician and that it was my responsibility.  I looked over our rental agreement contract written by our property manager and there doesn't seem to be any language on point.  The property manager said that it is the tenant's responsibility to meet with the repair technician and that the property manager will not personally meet with the technician.  Any input is appreciated.

Hi Justin,  

Thanks for organizing the meetings.  I'm a new landlord and would like to learn from like minded professionals and investors in the Rockville-Clarksburg area.  I've emailed you to add me to your meeting list. 

Thanks, 

Peter C 

Hi.

I'm looking to connect with seasoned landlords for partnership opportunities to invest in rental properties.  I currently own one rental property and looking to expand.

Thanks.