Inherited property with tenants making renovations
Need Advice.
My best friend’s dad past away last month. He inherited a home with tenants in Santa Clara, California. They have a 3 year lease agreement signed and in the agreement his dad and the tenant negotiated that the tenant can make renovations to the property. Since covid the tenant has been paying partial rent until today and paying below market rent for a sfh 3/2.
The tenant kept making excuses about paying rent and told my friend that his dad gave him chances and they had an agreement. My friends dad wasn’t able to visit the property due to his health he was 89 years old and had cancer.
my friend finally visited the property the other day and as you can see in the pictures the tenant hasn’t finished making renovations because he’s been busy at work. The tenant basically added walls to make more rooms. The tenant also said he was in the process renovating the kitchen. The lease ends next year 2023. What should my friend do? He’s pretty overwhelmed about the situation.
Can he even evict him?
Should he get a lawyer involved? Should he even let the tenant finish the renovations?
The tenant owes a lot in back rent too.
Given California landlord tenants laws. What should be the first step?
@Jamila Garcia
Seems like they are taking advantage. It would be better if they just paid rent, and you made the repairs. But if they are behind on multiple months, then they just don't want to pay at all. Good luck. I don't know CA laws, but your sate is more tenant friendly. Make sure you update us.
Yes, you can evict the tenant if they don’t pay the rent. I wouldn’t let it go to 2023. That’s just being lazy and you’ll keep losing out. You probably can’t work on it much till they’re out, in my experience. I have 7 properties in CA but not in your area. My areas are mostly even more tenants friendly than your area.
Honestly, the first question that comes to mind is where was your friend when his dad needed help selecting a tenant and managing the property. Perhaps they wouldn't be in this situation if they took a more proactive approach.
I do not know CA laws and I am not an attorney, but I could see a judge saying that the tenant has until 2023 to complete renovations. As long as they complete everything by 2023 I don't think that you have a case. As for the back rent, that may be an issue, but your friend can't prove or disprove any agreement verbal or otherwise to a judge. I would say whatever the tenant owes his deceased father your friend isn't going to collect. However, your friend can put the tenant on notice that any reduction in rent would no longer be acceptable and any verbal agreements with the deceased party are no longer valid. Now if the tenant provides a written agreement, then then all bets are off.
See what an attorney will say. Talk to a local REIA and speak with one of the affiliate attorneys.
Ok, well he is in a real mess. Ideally he could get a court to agree that his father wasn't in mental capacity to make this agreement and get it annulled; allowing tenants to make any renovations they want to a rental property is very rare, and that would be the basis I would pursue. Or try to get some kind of court relief for imminent destruction of the property, which is what that looks like especially since there's likely no permits pulled or approved. Maybe get the local government to shut him down so no further damage is done.
Beyond that, he should forget about ever seeing anything in the past and hold a hard core line going forward and file to evict as soon as rent is late, or for any other violation in the lease for which he can evict. These people are destroying the house and I promise these "improvements" are never going to be finished or be right going from your pictures.
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What a mess! Just get rid of these tenants.....they will not finish the repairs, and I'd bet that they are not up to code and haven't been inspected. It'll be a huge $$ loss no matter what your friend does, but I always find it better to just cut your losses and move forward.....
No good deed goes unpunished. If you are the kind of person that assumes everyone is good, you have a rough road ahead.
Contact an attorney and start the eviction process for non-payment of rent. You don't even need to mention the renovations or anything else that may muddy the water. Evict them for not paying the rent. Pay the cost, fix the place up, and start over or sell it.
Hi Jamia,
Any Permits pulled, or are there illegal modifications (???)
Is having a room (like with the pump or whatever that silver thing is) 2 feet (or 4 feet ??) wide legal in your town (???)
The pic with the faux brick home made vent hood, the door with the counter top in front of it, the backslash with no grout and the spacers still in it, and the Formica roller on a hook, just WOW!
Upscale ADA range ($$$), if the appliances are yours make sure the do not disappear, they look like expensive ones.
I see what looks like a lot of jobs began but not completed, and then another job started and uncompleted.
Good Luck!
(Just for comparison.)
Quote from @Jamila Garcia:
Need Advice.
My best friend’s dad past away last month. He inherited a home with tenants in Santa Clara, California. They have a 3 year lease agreement signed and in the agreement his dad and the tenant negotiated that the tenant can make renovations to the property. Since covid the tenant has been paying partial rent until today and paying below market rent for a sfh 3/2.
The tenant kept making excuses about paying rent and told my friend that his dad gave him chances and they had an agreement. My friends dad wasn’t able to visit the property due to his health he was 89 years old and had cancer.
my friend finally visited the property the other day and as you can see in the pictures the tenant hasn’t finished making renovations because he’s been busy at work. The tenant basically added walls to make more rooms. The tenant also said he was in the process renovating the kitchen. The lease ends next year 2023. What should my friend do? He’s pretty overwhelmed about the situation.
Can he even evict him?
Should he get a lawyer involved? Should he even let the tenant finish the renovations?
The tenant owes a lot in back rent too.
Given California landlord tenants laws. What should be the first step?
Yikes, pay for the attorney. Don't try to "DIY" it like the tenants are doing to the home.
@Jamila Garcia you should hire a property manager and let them advise you.
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Start by talking to the tenants and get everything in writing. What was agreed to according to them, what were the timelines, etc. I'd never let unknown tenants do major renovations.
If your friend has a copy of the lease, follow it to the letter. If the renos aren't mentioned in there and they are not in writing, follow the lease. They are behind on rent, have him hire an eviction attorney.
Review the lease, gather the rent roll and any other written documentation. Present to attorney and start eviction. I would not allow the tenant to renovate the property, our lease prohibits property alterations without owner approval. You want to ensure the property is maintained by a licensed professional. If your friend decided to sell it has permits and done correctly. I don't know if the Law firm our company works with can help but feel free to contact, HDR Law Group. It won't be cheap.
I would also recommend looking into a professional management company to help get the notices served correctly. They can assists with removing the problematic tenants, turn over and find qualified long term tenants at market rent.
I feel for your friend. I think hiring a lawyer and stating that these people haven't paid rent is the way to go. And like someone in this chat said, don't mention going into renovations because the problem is that they aren't paying rent.
If there is nothing in writing about the renovations I would put a stop to the right away - I foresee him having to undo all of the work as I'd assume it was not proposed and approved with permitting which means your friend is going to have to undo all of these modifications. If there was some agreement in writing I would review the terms of that deal, and serve a notice that no further renovations/modifications are approved at the home. Perhaps putting together a cash for keys offer and getting this person's agreement to get them out prior to the end of the lease will be a good strategy here.