New Landlord - Can I end the Lease Early?

Question

Hi everybody! I am a new ish landlord in Arlington. I own a property that I rent out by the room. I originally lived in it, but just bought my second property and moved out, and had someone move into my room (4 bed, 3 bath, all 4 bedrooms are rented out individually).

This new person who moved in is already causing issues. It is day 3. She is being loud, keeping the roommates awake (like 4am late), inviting guests over and leaving them in the house by themselves, etc. The roommates have issues with this, obviously. Luckily, it is only a 3 month lease. But, my question is, is there a way I can end her lease early without potentially putting myself in a bad situation?

She has been loud in the backyard way past noise ordinance times. I can do cash for keys, but I would like to stay away from that if possible. In my lease, noise ordinances are a reason to end the lease early. I just want to see if there is a way I could get her out of there, before pissing off the other 3 tenants, but also something that is legal and would not open me up to a lawsuit type of situation.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Yes, you can terminate a lease based on their violations.

I would start with a written violation and demand they clean up their act or move out. If they violate the terms again, demand they leave. If they refuse to leave, start the eviction process. If you don't know how to do any of this, I recommend you hire an attorney to help you with the process.

Do yourself a favor: buy "Every Landlord's Legal Guide" by NOLO. Written by attorney investors, it's full of practical advice about the management of investment property, has sample forms that can be edited, and - most importantly - tells you what your primary state laws are and where you can read them. It's updated yearly and is the best $40 you'll spend as a Landlord.

Peyton Culberson · Answer

Hi @Rene Hosman! Thank you for the reply. I just sent out a written notice over text, outlining the noise ordinance issue that is mentioned in the lease. My lease does not specify a number of warnings regarding the noise ordinances. It just says that if she breaks the lease, I can have her move out. I did mention two other things, but those were specific to the comfortability/uncomfortability of the roommates based upon her actions, which the lease does not mention anything about.

Moving forward, I will include something about the roommates opinion in the lease.

Rene Hosman · Answer

@Peyton Culberson have you sent a written notice of the noise violation to this problem tenant yet? I would start with that ASAP so that the lease violation is documented. Does your lease specify a process/timeline/number of warnings regarding the noise ordinances? I'm a personal believer in always following your lease as closely as you can so you have a document to back you up

Theresa Harris · Answer

Give her notice that she's in violation of the lease.  You have noise violations in the lease and hopefully you had something about guests as well.  Even if you didn't have anything about guests, she's not following the lease with regards to noise (and it wasn't a one time thing).  Tell her if she doesn't stop immediately, she needs to find a new place to live.

For the next lease, carefully about including someone's opinion.  You could have a good tenant, but one roommate may not like them for personal reasons and want them out.

Bruce Lynn · Answer

Send or hand deliver her a written letter and talk to her personally about it.  Text messages can be a start, but if you ever go to court, I can tell you judges don't like text messages.  They like written correspondence.  They may or may not consider text messages.  While that is a quick way to communicate, it doesn't have the same impact and may not have the same legal consequences.

One thing to think about is what is your goal?   For most owners the goal is to keep tenants, not get rid of them.  If that is you, then think of what you can do to keep her.  Besides the letter I would have a sit down with her....talk about the issues, ask her how she can resolve them, ask her to commit to resolution.  That may or may not work.

If it doesn't work then think if it was you, what would it take you to leave.  How do you want her to leave....hey if you'll get out by Friday and leave your room clean like you got it, I'll pay you $500 in cash, because no one is happy right now.

Good luck....it's not easy.

New Landlord - Can I end the Lease Early?

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