Drugs found in duplex. What to do?
Investor · Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 25 posts · 8 votes
I think you're looking for trouble. It sounds like he did not confirm permission for you to enter and if he finds out you posted pictures of his condom and baby powder on the internet he may be the new owner.
If there is no change in his behavior i'd forget it. He knows you were in the apartment. I doubt the police would do anything based on your observation and could be a problem for you if you produce those pictures.
@Kimberly T. - I kind of (have to) agree with @Account Closed here.
Also, assuming the tennant is "using/selling meth", "shoot up his building dealing drugs", or "ODs on something in the unit and no one notices until they smell the decomp" is unfair.
It would be like you renting a place...your landlord walks in and sees your 6 mo old baby strapped to a carrier while you are outside getting the carseat ready. Landlord doesn't see you but sees the baby, ALONE, inside without your supervision. You see your landlord and tell him you were just around the corner, for 5 minutes, getting the car ready. Unfortunately, he decides you're lying to him, calls CPS, police, etc, and accuses you of child abuse. Keep in mind, you've never made a late payment, had trouble at your place, had any complaints, or created damage of any kind.
Not the best analogy, but hopefully you get the idea...
Again, I'm not defending said tennant. I just believe he should have a chance to explain himself before letting any emotions come into a business decision. Anyhow, Im just interested in thinking creatively in any situation. There's always a great solution to any dilemma.
You're right, it's not the best analogy. In fact, it's not an appropriate analogy at all. There's nothing illegal with leaving your baby in a carrier while preping the car seat. It IS, however, completely illegal to possess illegal drugs. You think tenants don't get in fights in their homes or OD on drugs at their homes? You have never watched an episode of COPS. Our PM in AZ had a tenant in another landlord's property die with a needle in his arm. No one knew it until the downstairs tenant complained about the smell... a week later. That landlord learned a valuable lesson in having better screening criteria.
But, if you guys want to have tenants who will (not "may", WILL) be having less than savory characters at your complex, not respecting your property, and possibly putting your property and other tenants in danger, then that's your choice. Leaves more good tenants for me. :)
Edit to add: most leases state that illegal behavior is prohibited on the premises. There's a reason people have put that in leases - it's because illegal behavior on the premises never turns out good for the landlord. At best, it's neutral for the landlord, but that's not often.
I've talked to my Lawyer, and he is getting back to me asap. From the first conversation with him, I am ok regarding entering the property since I did him 2 hours before hand at a "reasonable" hour which was 9AM. He DID reply and stated he was in another state, and all was ok with me entering. That only worries me even more since he should know that he has left this stuff out to be seen so blatantly. He's also given me permission to enter the property "anytime" for repairs via email communication.
I'm not going to over react; I'm going to handle as my Lawyer instructs. He mentioned one recourse was to notify him this his lease would be terminated, and give him X days to leave. I think, under the circumstances, he will oblige; at least I hope so. I'll keep everyone updated.
Curious to hear how things have gone this week...
@Kimberly T. - I kind of (have to) agree with @Account Closed here.
Also, assuming the tennant is "using/selling meth", "shoot up his building dealing drugs", or "ODs on something in the unit and no one notices until they smell the decomp" is unfair.
It would be like you renting a place...your landlord walks in and sees your 6 mo old baby strapped to a carrier while you are outside getting the carseat ready. Landlord doesn't see you but sees the baby, ALONE, inside without your supervision. You see your landlord and tell him you were just around the corner, for 5 minutes, getting the car ready. Unfortunately, he decides you're lying to him, calls CPS, police, etc, and accuses you of child abuse. Keep in mind, you've never made a late payment, had trouble at your place, had any complaints, or created damage of any kind.
Not the best analogy, but hopefully you get the idea...
Again, I'm not defending said tennant. I just believe he should have a chance to explain himself before letting any emotions come into a business decision. Anyhow, Im just interested in thinking creatively in any situation. There's always a great solution to any dilemma.
You're right, it's not the best analogy. In fact, it's not an appropriate analogy at all. There's nothing illegal with leaving your baby in a carrier while preping the car seat. It IS, however, completely illegal to possess illegal drugs. You think tenants don't get in fights in their homes or OD on drugs at their homes? You have never watched an episode of COPS. Our PM in AZ had a tenant in another landlord's property die with a needle in his arm. No one knew it until the downstairs tenant complained about the smell... a week later. That landlord learned a valuable lesson in having better screening criteria.
But, if you guys want to have tenants who will (not "may", WILL) be having less than savory characters at your complex, not respecting your property, and possibly putting your property and other tenants in danger, then that's your choice. Leaves more good tenants for me. :)
Edit to add: most leases state that illegal behavior is prohibited on the premises. There's a reason people have put that in leases - it's because illegal behavior on the premises never turns out good for the landlord. At best, it's neutral for the landlord, but that's not often.
Well, you completely ignored my point, which I half expected.
You are right, and you validated my point even more. Thank you! Your tenant says: "there's nothing wrong here. I pay you every month on time. I treat this place as it was my own. There is no damage and has never been. Ive had a great business relationship with you. I am respectful of you and your property...oh, and here is my wife and daughter. Very nice to meet you."But you disregard all of that and tell him:
"It IS, however, completely illegal to possess illegal drugs. You think you won't get in fights in your home or OD on drugs at your home? You have never watched an episode of COPS. Our PM in AZ had a tenant in another landlord's property die with a needle in his arm. No one knew it until the downstairs tenant complained about the smell... a week later. That landlord learned a valuable lesson in having better screening criteria.
But, you will (not "may", WILL) be having less than savory characters at your complex, not respecting your property, and possibly putting your property and other tenants in danger, and that leaves more good tenants for me. :)
Most leases state that illegal behavior is prohibited on the premises. There's a reason people have put that in leases - it's because illegal behavior on the premises never turns out good for the landlord. At best, it's neutral for the landlord, but that's not often."
Then you call the cops on him, get him arrested, and ruin whatever is left of his dignity as a father. You also evict him while all that is happening for him so he now has no place to live temporarily.
Other than the small amount of drugs found inside his dwelling, he's been pretty responsible in all regards to your business relationship. You might say, that's statistically relevant. Like maybe it's worth a sit down meeting with him first?
Then you call the cops on him, get him arrested, and ruin whatever is left of his dignity as a father. You also evict him while all that is happening for him so he now has no place to live temporarily.
He lost whatever dignity he had as a father when he CHOSE to do/make/deal drugs in his home. That was his choice, not his landlord's. The landlord has a responsibility to his/her personal finances, property, and other tenants' safety and quiet enjoyment of the premises, NOT to some drug addict's supposed "dignity."
Yeah, I'm a fan of tough love and holding people accountable for their decisions. Maybe if everyone was always held accountable for their decisions, people would make better decisions more often.
Other than the small amount of drugs found inside his dwelling, he's been pretty responsible in all regards to your business relationship. You might say, that's statistically relevant. Like maybe it's worth a sit down meeting with him first?
I have a sit down meeting with tenants before they move in, to go over the rental agreement. In that agreement, it says very clearly that illegal drugs are not permitted on/in the premises. Sit down done.
I'm not saying I never give tenants a second chance or work with them toward a mutually beneficial solution. Minor lease violations and late rent are cases where I'm willing to give them a second chance or work with them (but I let them know I mean business). However, major crimes are not cases that deserve a second chance, especially when it leaves my property and other tenants vulnerable.
did you see him do the drugs? How do we know they are or aren't his? You are quick to the trigger. That's not "tough love"...that's jumping to conclusions.
I agree - you're the landlord. Do whatever it is you see fit.
My only point I continually try and express to you and the only point you continuously ignore is getting you to understand there are two sides to every story.
in my first example with the car seat - l was trying to open the idea that yes, in fact, you did nothing wrong. the point being - someone else decided you did, in fact, do something wrong.
But you blatantly ignored this point only getting caught up in the details of my fictitious story to point out how my story was a bad example (which I stated it was).
At this point, my only suggestion is that you lay off your daily dose of COPS and open your eyes to the real world. Not everything you see on tv is real. Also, a little compassion for someone goes a long way.
to be clear - I am not disagreeing that drugs are bad nor did I ever state I would be ok with them. I suppose we just do business differently and our compassion meters are on different charts. My style would be to go out of my way to find out the root of his issue and attempt to help him out of that situation. Maybe nobody has ever done that for him? Maybe he would be grateful for that?
@Kimberly T.
There is a huge, huge difference between someone recreationally using drugs and dealing them / "cooking" them. The vast majority of people who use weed, cocaine, etc. don't also go on to use meth or heroin or whatever and tend to actually function quite well in professional life (much like alcoholics do - a "legal" drug). I'd wager that plenty of people you know have used / use these substances. To call the possession of a small amount of cocaine a "major crime" is ridiculous. You seem to have fallen for the continuous scare tactics of those who demonize drug users and let your imagine get away from you. A little bit of coke doesn't equal gang shootouts at your building.
Is it ideal to have a tenant who does drugs? No. Would I want to get that person out of there when the lease was up? Absolutely. But involving the cops in this situation is a huge mistake that only escalates the situation and accomplishes very little.
u should call the cops
I heard a good story in the past about how one landlord / law firm goes about it in a nearby city. Wait about a month, then out of the blue tell your tenants you have to stop by to chat. It goes something like this (if you really know they are doing drugs):
Landlord: "Hey, I know you guys are great tenants but the cops reached out to me and are asking me about some kind of drug activity going on here - they are apparently watching the place"
Tenant: "Oh no man, no drug activity going on here"
Landlord: "That's what I said too, I told them you guys were great tenants and that I would follow up with you and just double check"
Tenant: "Thanks, you really are a great landlord"
Landlord: "No Problem, thanks again for taking great care of the place and see you in two weeks when I pickup the rent!"
Tenant will move out overnight if there is drug activity. Then as a landlord you do an eviction to officially get the place back - since all eviction paperwork is mailed to the place they have all ready moved out of you will fly through the process and get your place back in no time to re-rent. Problem solved and the drug users will not be upset at you since you did them a favor.
I'm curious, what was the eviction reason for the marijuana smell tenant? That alone would never fly with any judge I've encountered.
That eviction was because of the multiple felonies with the drugs and trading a baby for drugs.
Personally I'd rather have a tenant sniffing coke than smoking marijuana, which can leave an odor and possibly the need to re-paint after they leave.
If they have been good otherwise, I would pretend I never saw this. If they cause other trouble in the future, then non-renew the lease at lease end, or evict if they don't pay.
I would never get the police involved in this, unless it was a very serious situation (rental turned into a crack house, dealers there). It sounds like this person is not at that level.
As for advice...I don't know if the OP has already dealt with this problem, but if not...if this is something your really worried about, drive by the unit late at night, see if there are strange people coming and going...do a safety inspection (with proper notice according to your state law) in a few months to see if the unit is in good condition.
If this person has a real drug problem he will try to short you on the rent at some point since all the money will be going towards ATM runs to get more coke...at the point you file for eviction...if that doesn't happen, let sleeping dogs lie, but make sure he goes to M2M lease once the one year expires, so that you can terminate quickly if things do go downhill in the future. But I would not call the police over the coke alone. Why create drama where there isn't any.
@Kimberly T. - I kind of (have to) agree with @Account Closed here.
Also, assuming the tennant is "using/selling meth", "shoot up his building dealing drugs", or "ODs on something in the unit and no one notices until they smell the decomp" is unfair.
It would be like you renting a place...your landlord walks in and sees your 6 mo old baby strapped to a carrier while you are outside getting the carseat ready. Landlord doesn't see you but sees the baby, ALONE, inside without your supervision. You see your landlord and tell him you were just around the corner, for 5 minutes, getting the car ready. Unfortunately, he decides you're lying to him, calls CPS, police, etc, and accuses you of child abuse. Keep in mind, you've never made a late payment, had trouble at your place, had any complaints, or created damage of any kind.
Not the best analogy, but hopefully you get the idea...
Again, I'm not defending said tennant. I just believe he should have a chance to explain himself before letting any emotions come into a business decision. Anyhow, Im just interested in thinking creatively in any situation. There's always a great solution to any dilemma.
There is a great solution to this dilemma; the tenant needs to go.
I will just about turn a blind eye to someone with a bit of weed once in a while, but I won't turn a blind eye when they are dealing it from the property, let alone doing cocaine in the property.
Unless you are sitting outside your property 24/7, you just don't know what the tenant is getting up to, and frankly, tenant paying ontime, upfront or over the top, I don't care, if he's doing drugs in my property then he has to go.
And even if the junkie is just doing drugs on dining room table, what other low lifes is he associating with - and thereby - what low lifes are coming into your property, and your neighborhoods?
Hey, if some junkie wants to do drugs in his home, then buy his own damn house and do them there.
This thread seems to have two different landlords - landlords that have had tenants-drug issues, and those that haven't.
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There is a very good reason to protect the neighborhood your house is in, it's money. Ultimately, that's what owning these properties are about. You stack your house with junkies "who are harming no one", it starts to bring down the neighborhood. People don't want their kids near junkies, people don't want to be near junkies (regardless of how harmless they appear), and people certainly don't want a drug dealing house (which they all become) in their neghborhood.
This affects rents and this affects house values. This is not good for business.
^It seems a lot of people here are jumping the gun here...nowhere did OP state that junkies are coming and going from the house, or that drugs are being manufactured in the unit...
Is it great that someone is using drugs in the unit? No. But this probably happens a lot more than any of us realize. This tenant just happened to leave his stuff out when the landlord came over on short notice. Would this be a problem if it were going on but the OP never found out about it?
We don't police alcohol use in our units. At least I don't. You deal with problems that arise from it -- domestic violence, noise complaints, drama.
^It seems a lot of people here are jumping the gun here...nowhere did OP state that junkies are coming and going from the house, or that drugs are being manufactured in the unit...
Is it great that someone is using drugs in the unit? No. But this probably happens a lot more than any of us realize. This tenant just happened to leave his stuff out when the landlord came over on short notice. Would this be a problem if it were going on but the OP never found out about it?
We don't police alcohol use in our units. At least I don't. You deal with problems that arise from it -- domestic violence, noise complaints, drama.
Assuming you have rental properties - do you sit outside them each day monitoring who goes in and out? Of course you don't. So you assume that the house isn't being used by other people.
I can assure you that having dealt with junkies before and seeing this in neighborhoods before, that drug use brings in more drug users. It is only a matter of time.
And you're right, it probably does happen more than we think, and when it is discovered in our property, the lease is terminated.
No, I don't sit monitoring...unfortunately I know from experience that a tenant doesn't have to be using drugs to bring in unauthorized occupants, or cause other types of trouble. I am there mowing lawns from time to time so I keep track of what's going on. Letting any rental property go for to long without checking up on it is a recipe for trouble.
I respect your opinion, but there is no indication that this person is a junkie from the fact that powder cocaine was found one time in the unit. OP did not mention this person causing disruptions or complaints from neighbors. OP said there has never been any other trouble with this person. My motto is don't panic until it's time to panic.
You could immediately try to evict this person based on the drugs. If the eviction fails in court then your stuck with a hostile tenant who may stop paying, or damage the unit. If the eviction works...well you have to find a new person. That new person may have small children who tear up the unit. Or bring in an unauthorized dog that causes damage. Pick your poison.
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I respect your opinion, but there is no indication that this person is a junkie from the fact that powder cocaine was found one time in the unit. OP did not mention this person causing disruptions or complaints from neighbors. OP said there has never been any other trouble with this person. My motto is don't panic until it's time to panic.
Really now? He finds drugs and paraphernalia and you don't think the tenant is a junkie?
Heck, when I took over our rentals a few years ago, there was a tenant selling meths from the house - and not a single neighbor told me until after the police raid! Lol. I know another unit was being used for selling weed, but they were on their way out anyway. Again, after the fact we're told about the neighbors suspicions.
Neighbors keep to themselves until after someone else has acted because if they are caught snitching, they have to live with the probable abuse that will follow.
@James
Well having gotten into it myself for a brief period many years ago, I can say that not everyone who does cocaine is a strung out mess...obviously it's not good for you, but then neither is binge drinking.
But I would wait awhile and see what happens before getting rid of this tenant. He is paying his rent.
And Scott S. above makes an important point--the stuff might belong to the daughter.
Don't see it. I mean see it, forget it and don't ever say you saw it. Try to avoid tenants like that but once they are there do not call the cops on them. For one thing they will have a hard time paying you if they get arrested and for another thing the cops very well might tear you house completely apart and if they do they will not pay you a dime for the damage.