All Forum Posts by: Ryan Brown

@Ryan Brown Not sure if you can terminate the lease if they are in a unit that they should not be vouchered for. The issue should have come up on the renewal but the caseworker may have been not paying attention.  The only time that I have heard of a second bedroom being included is with a WC patient who had a lot of medical equipment. That is only one instance, not sure it is a policy. 

Quote from @Ryan Brown:

Quote from @Dan H.:

does the section 8 case worker know there is only one person living in the 2 BR unit?  I suspect he is getting more rent assistance than is appropriate for a single person.  The case worker may handle getting rid of this tenant for you.

If you are going to be a property manager, you need to know the applicable laws.  You will not always be able to request assistance on BP as some items need to be dealt with immediately.  Either hire a professional PM or put in the time/effort to be a competent PM.  This means learn the relevant laws.   A professional PM should charge to evict a tenant that they did not place, but it can potentially save you mistakes and they may have access to an experienced eviction attorney if it is necessary.  If you handle this without a professional PM, get referrals for a good eviction attorney and let them use the expertise.

Good luck

Hey Dan, thanks!

I assume section 8 knows that because when I uploaded the new lease it only had her name on it…actually, section 8 might be unaware that it’s only one name on the lease for a 2bedroom apartment. What exactly does BP stand for? Right now, my primary focus is finding an attorney that can walk me through this process

Sorry BP = Bigger Pockets (this site).  Their annual conference is BPCon for short.

I do not think section 8 typically will supplement a 2 BR for a single person.  If you are getting government subsidized, you should not be subsidized a spare bedroom.

Good luck

does the section 8 case worker know there is only one person living in the 2 BR unit?  I suspect he is getting more rent assistance than is appropriate for a single person.  The case worker may handle getting rid of this tenant for you.

If you are going to be a property manager, you need to know the applicable laws.  You will not always be able to request assistance on BP as some items need to be dealt with immediately.  Either hire a professional PM or put in the time/effort to be a competent PM.  This means learn the relevant laws.   A professional PM should charge to evict a tenant that they did not place, but it can potentially save you mistakes and they may have access to an experienced eviction attorney if it is necessary.  If you handle this without a professional PM, get referrals for a good eviction attorney and let them use the expertise.

Good luck

Quote from @Ryan Brown:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Ryan Brown:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Start by talking to their case worker and letting them know that you are doing so.  Also tell them that they are in violation of the lease as it should include a statement about other tenants having a right to peaceful enjoyment of their unit and they are in violation of that.  Also get a copy of the police report for your records.

 Thanks Theresa! Even though they haven’t been blasting music lately, with all the past drama I no longer want him here. Do you have any special tips on moving forward to get them out the property after his lease is up?

 Find out how much notice you have to give them and give them that amount of time. Make sure you send it registered mail and have them confirm receipt....or do an inspection (with proper notice) and drop it off then-bring two copies and get them to sign the one you keep.

Hey Theresea,

My mentor gave me the amount of time to give the tenant. In NY you don’t have to have the non lease renewal letter signed but thank you!

I'm sure most places don't require signatures. My suggestion for having it signed was more to give you proof that you gave it to them, when and that they received it...just in case they say they never received it. 

Quote from @Ryan Brown:

Hey everyone, this post is going to be a little long so please bear with me since I’m in dire need of advice and assistance.

When this section 8 tenant initially signed the lease, it was him and his daughter for a 2 bedroom apartment. After a year has passed, the daughter was taken off the new lease so now it is just one person living in a two bedroom apartment. For the past month, he has gotten into it(verbal) with another tenant, he has been blasting music all hours of the night, forcing me to have to speak to him and telling him not to blast music because it’s disturbing the other tenants. He continued to do it for several nights, but lately he has stopped. 

The other day, the daughter who was taken off of the lease, was yelling at the father outside of his apartment, cursing and threatening him. Several cops came and arrested the daughter. This was loud enough for the other tenants to hear which made them feel uncomfortable because the environment now feels hostile and unsafe.

Unfortunately, all this started happening when I renewed the lease, which means this tenant is going to be here for the next 11 months and I am obviously not renewing it.

My other tenants are very concerned for their safety and I’m seeing on the cameras that this section 8 tenant is having people over every single day. I can almost guarantee that he has at least 3 other people living with him who are not on the lease.

I never did an eviction before, but when his lease is up, should I send them the 90 day lease non-renewal letter and see what the tenant does? Do I have grounds to evict this tenant once the lease is up? I really don’t want this person in my property anymore. Can the experts that know the New York City law please chime in. I am looking forward to everyone’s reply!

In NYC, eviction for cause requires proper documentation. As you have mentioned about unauthorized occupants, then that's a clear lease violation. You just need to gather evidence, such as camera footage of unauthorized people. Also, the prior noise complaints and the police incident can be your grounds for eviction based on nuisance.

You just need to serve appropriate notice of lease violation and start eviction proceedings now for breach of lease terms instead of waiting for the lease to end.

Also, since it's Section 8 tenant, you might need to inform the housing authority about the violations. And consult a lawyer to ensure you follow all steps correctly, as eviction laws are strict, especially with Section 8 tenants.

Quote from @Ryan Brown:

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Start by talking to their case worker and letting them know that you are doing so.  Also tell them that they are in violation of the lease as it should include a statement about other tenants having a right to peaceful enjoyment of their unit and they are in violation of that.  Also get a copy of the police report for your records.

 Thanks Theresa! Even though they haven’t been blasting music lately, with all the past drama I no longer want him here. Do you have any special tips on moving forward to get them out the property after his lease is up?

 Find out how much notice you have to give them and give them that amount of time. Make sure you send it registered mail and have them confirm receipt....or do an inspection (with proper notice) and drop it off then-bring two copies and get them to sign the one you keep.

@Ryan Brown if the daughter no longer lives with him how is he entitled to a two bedroom on Section 8?  I would bring up the occupancy with the caseworker in case they are not informed.

Encourage the other tenants to call the police as needed!

Tell them that you cannot legally get rid of the problem tenant w/o police reports.

On top of the previous recommendations - as you don’t appear to have a property manager, I’d suggest you start documenting every issue and correspondence with the tenant.  Would also make sure that any warnings are put in writing even if you are following up on a verbal discussion. 

@Ryan Brown - @Chris Seveney and @Theresa Harris both offered amazing advice. Just to reiterate some of their points, if they are on a long term lease, it will definitely be more challenging then if they were month to month. I would review the terms of your lease and see what clauses they are violating and if you have evidence of it. If so, this could be utilized for a eviction due to them violating the lease.

Nonetheless definitely get an eviction attorney involved, it is well worth the money. And discuss with their section 8 rep since the threat of them losing section 8 support could help resolve the situation by them agreeing to move peacefully. Section 8 support takes a while to obtain hence based on my experience, tenants will do what they need to keep it. Best of luck in resolving your challenging tenant issue!