Tenant moved in adult child without my knowledge -

Rental Property Investor · North Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

3y

@Account Closed

I would have them complete the application, and pay their application fee now. This way you can run credit, and background checks to see who is living in your property. Since the lease expires in a couple of months, it is your choice when to add them. I just feel it is most important to run the background now to verify who the person is. If they have a questionable background, you want to know sooner than later.

Having an adult living on your property adds to your legal exposure. If something happened to another tenant at your property or a guest at the property, you can be sued for negligence.

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes

3y

Quote from @Account Closed:

1. you can offer to renew but tell her that your policy requires the son to apply and be approved. Only offer the renewal after they've met all your requirements.

2. Deny their request to renew. She violated your lease once, there's a good chance she'll do it again.

I choose the latter.

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Yael Lederman

Miami, FL · Member since 2022 · 83 posts · 68 votes

3y

With lease violations, the more time you wait the more issues may arise. I would tackle the issue amicably now. Sounds like this tenant is relatively good so the chances may be higher than they are reasonable and will take the necessary steps you outline for them.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

Thank you so much @Charles Carillo; @Nathan Gesner; @Yael Lederman for your great input.

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Richard Elvin

Investor · Cleveland, TN · Member since 2016 · 279 posts · 187 votes

3y

I would second what's been said above and immediately request them come into compliance with the lease terms.
I would also want to know if they made a mistake in violating the lease or if they knew it was a lease violation.
If they honestly just didn't think about it, then educating them more thoroughly about the lease agreement would be my first thought. (Since they're good tenants otherwise) This does setup a situation where it may be harder in the future to evict a different tenant for the same thing, so consider that aspect as well.
If they knowingly violated the lease agreement, I would feel that I needed to act on that. Otherwise it would seem to open up the possibility of litigation if a different tenant violated the lease and you acted on that violation. Or even the same tenant violated the lease again in a different manner.
Just my opinion. I'm sorry you are having to deal with this, it sucks when a good tenant does something out of character.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

@Richard Elvin - thanks for your response. You raise some good points about their reasons for violating the lease terms. If it was a mistake or a lack of understanding, I'll do my best to educate them further. Thanks again

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Colleen F.Pro Member

Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes

3y

@Account Closed or maybe they didn't honestly think he was going to be there that long....and notifying you got away from them. If the place looks good otherwise I would have him added after an application/background check. They won't see the rationale since he probably has no means but just re-inforce it is your policy.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

@Colleen F. thanks for your response. Unfortunately after following through on this a little more, they were fully aware of what they were doing but were downright dishonest about not letting me know. I happened upon the situation quite by chance when an online search of my property led me to a website that listed the son as a tenant. That was a huge surprise. I did send them a polite message to try and remedy the situation with two options - either the son vacates or gets himself fully approved as a co-tenant. They were very unhappy, indicated I was heartless to suggest remedies that would likely displace the son and leave him with no place to stay, never mind their own disregard for the lease agreement they signed.

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Colleen F.Pro Member

Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes

3y

@Account Closed are they anticipating he won't pass the background check? I can't see why they wouldn't just add him otherwise. Most kids that age won't have a great credit score due to length of credit but that generally wouldn't be a problem for me since they are paying but the comment makes me think there is something else they are concerned about.

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Theresa HarrisPro Member

Member since 2019 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes

3y

Quote from @Account Closed:

@Colleen F. thanks for your response. Unfortunately after following through on this a little more, they were fully aware of what they were doing but were downright dishonest about not letting me know. I happened upon the situation quite by chance when an online search of my property led me to a website that listed the son as a tenant. That was a huge surprise. I did send them a polite message to try and remedy the situation with two options - either the son vacates or gets himself fully approved as a co-tenant. They were very unhappy, indicated I was heartless to suggest remedies that would likely displace the son and leave him with no place to stay, never mind their own disregard for the lease agreement they signed.

Based on that, I would not renew their lease. Why assume that you screening him will result in him not being approved rather than him being approved.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

Quote from @Colleen F.:

@Account Closed are they anticipating he won't pass the background check? I can't see why they wouldn't just add him otherwise. Most kids that age won't have a great credit score due to length of credit but that generally wouldn't be a problem for me since they are paying but the comment makes me think there is something else they are concerned about.

I'm not entirely sure what their reasoning is with this.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

Quote from @Theresa Harris:

Quote from @Account Closed:

@Colleen F. thanks for your response. Unfortunately after following through on this a little more, they were fully aware of what they were doing but were downright dishonest about not letting me know. I happened upon the situation quite by chance when an online search of my property led me to a website that listed the son as a tenant. That was a huge surprise. I did send them a polite message to try and remedy the situation with two options - either the son vacates or gets himself fully approved as a co-tenant. They were very unhappy, indicated I was heartless to suggest remedies that would likely displace the son and leave him with no place to stay, never mind their own disregard for the lease agreement they signed.

Based on that, I would not renew their lease. Why assume that you screening him will result in him not being approved rather than him being approved.

Yes I completely agree.
My lease requires lessee to provide 60 days notice if they are not wishing to renew. Lessor is not required to provide any notice if renewal is not being offered. Several days ago I had sent them an offer to renew at the end of their current term and they responded that they did wish to renew. Today I had sent them the options for guest to vacate or be screened and added to the lease. Can my offers to renew be revoked and do I need to do anything about this or just let the lease run out?

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Laura Stayton

Property Manager · DE · Member since 2023 · 248 posts · 133 votes

3y

Quote from @Account Closed:

My tenant's 12 month lease ends July 31 and I was informed they wish to renew. However I just learned the tenant moved in their 21 year old son without my knowledge and the son has been living there the past two or three months. The lease is specific that guests are not permitted to stay more than seven consecutive days for any reason. The tenant has otherwise been good and pays rent regularly and on time so my aim is to try and find a positive outcome to this breach of rules by asking the son put in an application, be screened and added to the lease if he is planning to stay on for a while. I read a few responses to other similar posts that suggest ignoring these types of situations and letting them slide, but I'd like to keep this on the up and up and try to resolve it in an amicable manner. Given that the lease will be coming up for renewal in a few weeks time, should my aim be to wait a while and add the son to the new lease or add him immediately to the current lease with an addendum? And should the parent and the son both be listed as "jointly and severally liable" even if the screening reveals the son is not in a position to assume this responsibility independently? Thank you.

We would have the adult son apply and as long as he checked out list him as an occupant. Kids need to come home sometimes and he's only 21. As long as he doesn't have any criminal history and decent credit (prob not much that young) I wouldn't think it would be a problem.

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Tim J.

Investor · Vermont and New York · Member since 2023 · 308 posts · 309 votes

3y

I doubt the tenant thinks they violated the lease. Most tenants in my experience don't read leases that carefully.

If she's a good tenant otherwise, I don't see why its necessary to get panties in a bunch about it.

Add him to the lease and be done with it.

Or, if it annoys you that much, don't renew.

For me, this is not a reason to get adversarial or end a lease.

1 Reply

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

3y

@Account Closed

Trash tenants do this all the time with their adult brats. Typically, the brats have lousy credit and criminal histories.

Let's run down the disadvantages: so you now have someone living in the apartment whom you haven't vetted. Who moved in by flouting one of the major terms of the lease. Who is adding to the wear-and-tear of the apartment. Who is not paying additional rent to compensate you for this.

I would get rid of them. The damage they've done to the landlord-tenant relationship isn't worth it. You can find people who toe the line and don't play games with you, moreover, you need to be known in the neighborhood of the rental as someone who simply doesn't play.

I have had this done to me in multiple ways, often involving impregnation. When a couple move in with an existing adult or late teenage female offspring, watch out. Odds are she'll get impregnated at some point and pop one out. I've had single women move in their boyfriends because they got impregnated. I've had single mothers with older daughters move in one of their daughter's boyfriends because their daughter got impregnated.

They all conceal their pregnancies and when the deed is done, display their brats and look at you and ask if you could be so heartless as to evict a little baby and a father, if you're a monster of a landlord breaking up a new family. This will be right before the washer breaks down because it's doing load after load of diapers every day, the microwave breaks down because it's busily heating up formula and breast milk every day, the range starts a fire because the boyfriend is careless about leaving the burners on, the fridge breaks down because he's doesn't give a damn about about making sure it's shut.

It all amounts to a compassion tax they're demanding that you pay because they had the shrewdness to break their lease and you had the stupidity to be a landlord.

So get rid of them.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

Quote from @Tim J.:

I doubt the tenant thinks they violated the lease. Most tenants in my experience don't read leases that carefully.

If she's a good tenant otherwise, I don't see why its necessary to get panties in a bunch about it.

Add him to the lease and be done with it.

Or, if it annoys you that much, don't renew.

For me, this is not a reason to get adversarial or end a lease.

Yesterday I suggested we go through the lease together in case they had not read or understood it in full. They claimed full understanding of the lease but said I have no compassion - in words that weren't nearly as respectful - for wanting to enforce lease regulations when all they were doing was helping the son. Honestly, if they had been open about it and discussed things with me in advance I would likely have tried to be helpful. Now it appears to be a total disregard for the lease.

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Account Closed

OP

Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 2 votes

3y

@Jim K. - Appreciate your input very much and you are right, the loss of trust is a major issue. As I had posted yesterday the lease runs out end July and does not ask for any notice from owner. Since I had offered to renew before all this unfolded, is there any issue with voiding the offer and letting them know? It is still about 65 days out. Could anyone conversant with Ohio law suggest the right way to do this? Thank you.

1 Reply

Tim J.

Investor · Vermont and New York · Member since 2023 · 308 posts · 309 votes

3y

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Tim J.:

I doubt the tenant thinks they violated the lease. Most tenants in my experience don't read leases that carefully.

If she's a good tenant otherwise, I don't see why its necessary to get panties in a bunch about it.

Add him to the lease and be done with it.

Or, if it annoys you that much, don't renew.

For me, this is not a reason to get adversarial or end a lease.

Yesterday I suggested we go through the lease together in case they had not read or understood it in full. They claimed full understanding of the lease but said I have no compassion - in words that weren't nearly as respectful - for wanting to enforce lease regulations when all they were doing was helping the son. Honestly, if they had been open about it and discussed things with me in advance I would likely have tried to be helpful. Now it appears to be a total disregard for the lease.

In that case, I agree with those who suggest to toss them out.

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Scott AllenBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2020 · 449 posts · 471 votes

3y

@Account Closed I'll usually have a tenant apply if they are 18 or older and plan to be one of the occupants. If you think about it, why is this 21 year old living in his parents basement still?

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Richard F.

Honolulu, HI · Member since 2008 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

3y

Aloha,

Well, a little late to the party here, but based on OP's last, definitely should have formally, in writing, rescinded the renewal offer, and then send non-renewal with appropriate notice.
If I were a gambling man, I would bet the son already has a record with the courts; and/or multiple unsupported children.

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John Dhoe

Member since 2026 · 1 post · 1 vote

7mo

The law states that the person on the lease can move in their immediate family member(s) and notify the owner within 30 days. The owner cannot restrict occupancy to the person on the lease. Occupancy can be restricted based on unit size. This is the law in New York and probably elsewhere. So an application and screening doesn't apply because no approval is needed by the owner. It is the tenants right to move in immediate family. See NYS real property law section 236-f

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Lydia Winn
Member since 2025 · 91 posts · 55 votes
7mo
Quote from @John Dhoe:

The law states that the person on the lease can move in their immediate family member(s) and notify the owner within 30 days. The owner cannot restrict occupancy to the person on the lease. Occupancy can be restricted based on unit size. This is the law in New York and probably elsewhere. So an application and screening doesn't apply because no approval is needed by the owner. It is the tenants right to move in immediate family. See NYS real property law section 236-f

Love that you mentioned the law here. One important caveat of that law is Section 235-f(7) explicitly states that the law does not "impair the right of a landlord to restrict occupancy in order to comply with federal, state, or local laws."

If a building is located within a certain distance of a school or daycare, and a Level 2 or 3 sex offender is legally prohibited by the state from residing there, the landlord can prevent that person from moving in. In this case, the landlord isn't "rejecting an application"; they are enforcing a separate legal mandate.

Even under this highly protective NYC law, registered sex offenses are one of the few things a landlord is still allowed to consider. So you can (and should) screen their criminal background, but not as you would a net new applicant to a vacant unit.

Also be mindful that depending on the size of the unit, you may run into overcrowding restrictions. Each resident must have 80 square feet of "livable" space NYC, so if the unit is very small, another resident in the unit may run afoul of this law.
Livable includes living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, and even kitchens, but you cannot count bathrooms, foyers, or private hallways toward this square footage requirement.
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Tenant moved in adult child without my knowledge -

Tenant moved in adult child without my knowledge -

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