Tenant broke lease but is still paying rent

[Lauren Kilburn]

I have a 5 bed/4 ba single family home in Houston TX and am using a property mgmt company who placed a tenant with a 12 month lease. The tenant has paid rent on time so far but I know there are more adults living in the home than just the single person on the lease and I strongly suspect they're subletting without permission. I provided proof to the property mgmt company who was not interested in pursuing anything. I intend on sending someone out for a "wellness check" at the 6 month mark. Since the legal tenant is paying rent, should I just let this go or should I let the tenant know they're breaking the lease?

[Jaycee Greene]

Quote from @Lauren Kilburn:

I have a 5 bed/4 ba single family home in Houston TX and am using a property mgmt company who placed a tenant with a 12 month lease. The tenant has paid rent on time so far but I know there are more adults living in the home than just the single person on the lease and I strongly suspect they're subletting without permission. I provided proof to the property mgmt company who was not interested in pursuing anything. I intend on sending someone out for a "wellness check" at the 6 month mark. Since the legal tenant is paying rent, should I just let this go or should I let the tenant know they're breaking the lease?

Hi @Lauren Kilburn, welcome to the BP Forum!

I'd try to talk to another PMC in the area and say you're interested in switching to them and ask for their procedure for such a situation.

Then I'd highly suggest you speak to an attorney that's familiar with the housing/rental laws in Texas/Houston to get their opinion (even if you have to pay them for their time). In general, if a tenant is using the property in a way that is not consistent with the lease, you should have grounds for eviction. However, in my experience, if you let this happen without notice/documentation, then you're allowing it to happen and in essence, you're not enforcing your lease. This could become a big problem down the line.