Tenant Moved Washer and Dryer without my consent

[Kevin Nolan]

Oh boy oh boy - So backstory, I just purchased this 2 unit rental property back in October 2020 and it came with washer/dryer that on the contract stated belonged to one of the tenants(who is section 8 and has been EXTREMELY high maintenance so far and paying $500 under market value). 

I walked down into the basement today to check something in which I saw that brand new washer/dryer machines were installed/moved from one end of the basement to the complete opposite end. Meaning they had to cut through for a new vent on the dryer on the other side of the basement and I did NOT give any consent on this. This tenant has been on month to month since purchasing the rental unit but just recently signed them to an annual lease a few weeks ago. 

Does anyone have any insight on how to handle this? Is this grounds for eviction? Keep in mind this tenant has been very demanding with requests on fixing stuff that had been broken for years and has tried taking advantage of the fact that I have been nice and dealt with her requests so far (which I understand now that I can't be too nice to tenants or else they will take advantage of you). If she wasn't so high maintenance and I was getting more money in rent instead of barely breaking even I wouldn't care as much but this is excessive and I have to do something about it or who knows what she'll try to do/install next.

Please any help here would be greatly appreciated 

[Jennifer Donley]

@Kevin Nolan, when I buy a property with tenants in it, I meet with them and give them a list of planned repairs with timeline.  I also give them a list of expectations of them and what they can expect from our relationship.  It is very black and white, I stick the lease terms and don't deviate.  It's common for new landlords to try to help and do too much/not stick to the lease but this usually creates a scenario like what you're dealing with.

I find that with a new owner, tenants are usually tired of the lack of response of the prior owner and hoping the new owner will be better.  They ask for a lot early on.  I do the repairs that are planned and the ones that are necessary for safety and maintaining the building.  The rest I put on a list to be done when time and budget allows.  I'm very transparent with the tenants on all of this.

With your situation, I would determine if the tenant has done damage to the property with these changes and if so, what it will cost to repair.  I'd charge that back to the tenant if any.

If the changes haven't actually done damage but are more just an annoyance because it shouldn't have been done, I would talk to the tenant and review the lease which states no changes to property without prior consent.

There should be an opportunity to request a rent increase from the housing authority. Check with your local HA, it's probably on their website.  It is likely only available to request annually and there may be specifics around when you can request it.

You may be able to evict over something like this but I wouldn't.  Evictions and turnovers are expensive and it's even more difficult right now. Issues like what you're dealing with will arise all the time with tenants - setting clear boundaries and following the lease will help you navigate it.  I have also found that the more I deal with these issues and the more tenants I get, the less these things bother me.