All Forum Posts by: Timothy Burns

When you notice a lease violation, you need to talk to them and give them written warning.  then as Nathan said, do an inspection.  If they violate the lease again, tell them they had a warning and now they need to move or be evicted.

Some good (and bizarre) advice above.  First the facts:

1. Does your lease require no smoking?  Sounds like no, so they aren't breaking any lease rule.  All you can do is talk to them and try to get them to clean up after them self and smoke outside.  My lease has a clear provision stating no smoking or vaping of any substance anywhere on the property.

2. Does your lease clearly state no pets?  Sounds like it does.  Talk with the tenant and get to an agreement you are satisfied with.  If no solution, you need evidence.  Photos of food and other rabbit accessories and most importantly a photo of the rabbit in the house will be the proof you need if this is to ever go to court.  No proof required to have a friendly talk with them though.

3. Long term guests.  Is this minor guest a family member?  If so, there probably isn't much you can do.  As you mentioned you pay utilities, you should have something in the lease for an extra utility charge per person and should follow that.  If you don't have that, there may not be much you can do.  

From the sound of it, you need a better lease agreement.  Seek out a copy of your state's Realtor's lease agreement and start with that.  The one I use covers 95% of what I need as-is and then I have an addendum.

Smoking: In general, a landlord can try to enforce any rule that is or perhaps is not in the signed lease.  Hopefully the landlord and tenant come to an agreement.  If there is no agreement, you still have options such as no lease renewal at the end of the period, or as you are considering, updating a lease agreement and requiring it be signed before the next term, or someone can file a legal action.  In the last case, a judge will likely only consider terms agreed to and signed under the actual lease itself as a primary source to decide upon.  Applications and such can be called in as needed and generally can be great supporting evidence, but my personal belief is that a judge is less likely to enforce any rule provided to the tenant in a document outside of the lease.

Regarding pets, the same above applies.  If you need to take it to court such as with an eviction assuming the tenant and you don't work it out, the judge is going to want to see the legal process with notices and warnings were followed exactly and also see the rule in the lease which clearly outlines the rule.  Also, she will want to see clear evidence that the pet is in the property.  A picture of rabbit food may not be sufficient.  A picture of the actual pet in a room that is clearly definable as being part of your property is more likely to provide sufficient support.  Pictures of the rabbit, food, cage, play items, etc... is best.  Also, if permissible by law, you can record the conversation with the tenant when you discuss the pet and if they admit to it, there is your evidence.  One side consent is legal in AZ where for recording conversations.  If you are in California, it appears both sides need to give permission.  You can get around this by driving to AZ and then making the call. :) perhaps this won't fly in a CA courthouse and this last part is humor and not legal advice.

Regarding leases in general, I like to look through leases to see other's approaches to creating them so I've seen quite a few.  My observation is that leases created by attorneys frequently are quite lacking and brief.  Maybe these attorneys don't have a lot of experience with rental issues.  I'm not sure.  And I have no doubt there are some solid leases written by attorneys.  I'd like to suggest the approach of using a lease created by an organization with extensive rental experience and then if you want, have your attorney look over that and give you the green light or suggest improvements.  Experience correlates to making sure provisions are included to cover ALL bases. 

The reason I mentioned that the minor may be a relative is that there are Fair Housing Act rules that disallow a landlord from discriminating against a family bringing in a minor even after the lease is signed in some situations. It can protect foster children for example also. There are limits and no one over 18 is protected. Being that is appears to be a duplex where you live in one half, it is very possible that the FHA does not apply to you. There are carveouts for landlords in similar situations where it does not apply and there is plenty of information about this online.

Regarding utilities... I have my tenant pay all utilities directly to the utility company.  They sign up when they move in and end the service when they leave.  I'm not involved.  If this is a single family property, you will be well off doing the same.  In CA, the only reason you wouldn't do this is if its a MFP with shared meters.  I'll assume you only have 1 meter for the property.  Consider getting the utilities and meters for the two units separated assuming its financially feasible.  Once they are separated, you'll have no more utility headaches.  You will be glad you did when that $1500 water bill comes in because a valve in a toilet failed and Lake Shasta went down the drain for a month and the tenant said nothing to you because they don't pay the bill.

You should give them a written warning and a demand that they correct the violations within X days and pass an inspection. If they fail or refuse, you serve them notice of termination and expect them out in 30 days. If they fail or refuse, you evict.

There's much more to it than this, but it's hard to write a step-by-step guide for everything involved. The bottom line: if you have a rule, you need to be prepared to enforce it swiftly and professionally before it gets out of hand.

Do yourself a favor: buy "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO. Written by attorney investors, it's full of practical advice pertaining to management of investment property, has sample forms that can be edited, and - most importantly - they tell you what your primary state laws are and where you can read them. It's updated every year and is the best $40 you'll spend as a Landlord. There is one book for 49 states and a separate book for California.

 If the rabbit food was in clear view, ask them about it.  Otherwise, do an inspection.

Some good (and bizarre) advice above.  First the facts:

1. Does your lease require no smoking?  Sounds like no, so they aren't breaking any lease rule.  All you can do is talk to them and try to get them to clean up after them self and smoke outside.  My lease has a clear provision stating no smoking or vaping of any substance anywhere on the property.

2. Does your lease clearly state no pets?  Sounds like it does.  Talk with the tenant and get to an agreement you are satisfied with.  If no solution, you need evidence.  Photos of food and other rabbit accessories and most importantly a photo of the rabbit in the house will be the proof you need if this is to ever go to court.  No proof required to have a friendly talk with them though.

3. Long term guests.  Is this minor guest a family member?  If so, there probably isn't much you can do.  As you mentioned you pay utilities, you should have something in the lease for an extra utility charge per person and should follow that.  If you don't have that, there may not be much you can do.  

From the sound of it, you need a better lease agreement.  Seek out a copy of your state's Realtor's lease agreement and start with that.  The one I use covers 95% of what I need as-is and then I have an addendum.

 They knew you were going in and the rabbit was there, so talk to them about it.