Tenant running therapy business

[Matt Gregory]

I have a potential tenant who is a psychotherapist for medical professionals. She would like to use the 1st floor bedroom for her office and to meet with clients. Outside of additional insurance, is there anything I should be aware of? It’s a 3 story townhouse so nobody would be walking through the house.

[Jennifer Ray]

I don’t believe so ... The Texas.gov website on starting a business says to check “area zoning ordinances”. As long as the tenant is doing everything legally, you shouldn’t have any issues. 

I’ve only had one tenant who ran a business from their home and issues arose when they needed special treatment because of this: requesting that yard maintenance only be done at a certain time of day, complaining about the level of neighborhood noise because clients needed silence, etc. Turns out she was doing “angel readings” 🤔☺️

If I were to do it again, I’d ask for business information (a copy of the business license or their FEIN, proof of insurance, whatever) and also work out some expectations re: maintenance calls or showings (how much lead time? are certain a days or hours off-limits?). Sounds like a potentially great tenant! Hope that helps!