Renters her deducting security cameras and monitoring
Re: The tenant's e-mail...
Have your attorney draft a notice reminding the tenant of the provisions in the lease regarding landlord's right to inspect. The attorney's note should probably also make some mention of the tenant's obligations to do due diligence on a neighborhood they're considering moving into as well as the lease's provision regarding modifications by the tenant without the landlord's knowledge or consent. Perhaps even suggest that on such basis, the modifications become the landlord's property.
So, yes - get your attorney on board pronto.
Originally posted by @David B.:
Here is the email I got when I told him no.
David,
That’s very disappointing. We really wanted to work with you and I thought our offer was more than fair and would be of great benefit to you.
At this point, I am going to speak with our attorneys as to what our legal rights are as tenants w/r/t to the crime and non-disclosure of a high-crime area, as well as the black mold and our exposure to it and our resulting damages. I am also going to hire a professional mold company to come in and test what is left after you tried to eradicate it. I also believe that you lender needs to be notified as well as the mold may impact their collateral.
As the repair work does not qualify as an emergency under California rental law, we will defer the repairs until after I have accomplished the aforementioned. You do not have our permission to enter our home without our consent and we will have the house alarmed for police response should you or anyone else attempt to enter while we are not here.
We also are now reconsidering our Right of First refusal to extend the term for an additional year. We will let you know what our decision is within the appropriate timeframe as set forth in our lease agreement.
In the event you wish to reconsider, please let us know, otherwise, we plan to see an attorney next week upon our return from Florida.
Wow. Extortion. These sound like the worst people. No reputable lawyer will take their case.
@David B. First, I'd like to congratulate you - I believe this is the first time I've seen a several page thread on BP with everyone in agreement!
Sounds like they're understandably scared, and looking for someone to blame (other than themselves, obviously.) Pretty typical reaction, but that doesn't mean you need to sit back and be their punching bag either. I would wager that no matter what you do in this situation, they will always be unhappy, and always blame you for getting robbed. And it is very unlikely they will ever take any responsibility for their own part in this (not locking the property with an absurd amount of valuables in it, and not having renter's insurance.)
As others have said, get a copy of the police report if you don't have one already. Request it directly from the PD, and also from the Tenant at the same time, just in case.
I think the only choice right now is whether to evict them for unauthorized alterations to your property, or to let them ride out the rest of their lease (without paying for their new security system, obviously.) Be warned: it could get seriously ugly if you start to evict them, but that's not to say getting them out at the end of their lease would be any different. In any event, your tenant has sent you enough in emails to chop his own legs out from underneath him.
If it were me, I might let them ride it out until the end of the lease, assuming they're always on time with rent and have a whole security deposit with you still. After they move out, remove the security system, charge them for the removal and any necessary repairs, etc. and move on. My guess would be that in an area with $3,000/month rent, you won't have any trouble finding your next tenant.
And if your lease doesn't already have it, add a clause that requires tenants to have renter's insurance if you can in your state.
Good Luck!
Sounds like extortion. Time to set them free so they can move to a "safer" neighborhood (and still leave the windows wide open for robbers)!
Also, just an FYI, the tenants are free to seek remedy in the form of restitution in criminal court should the thief ever be prosecuted and convicted. This would include the cost of installing the system.
Their response to you denying their request tells me you're in for a wild ride.
Stop right now and write down everything. Do not verbally communicate with them further, instead put EVERYTHING in writing. Email is a legal method of communication, but text may or may not be in your state, so keep it all in email from now on. Keep meticulous notes from now until their tenancy ends.
If you have no issues with vacancy, offer to let them out of their lease with no break lease fee, as long as you can show it starting immediately.
Also, contacting an attorney would be a great next step.
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Assuming you have a no alterations clause in your lease, I would move to evict them immediately based on breach of the lease. You should also have a right of entry clause in your lease which allows you the right to access the property with reasonable notice. These tenants will be nothing but problems, get them out as soon as possible.
@David B. do you have updates about your tenants?
Get your lawyer involved now. No more texts/emails, everything in writing going forward. It's a threat and lockout of your property (also excluded in the lease I hope). Take a deep breath, document everything and good luck.
Tell them to pound sand and that you won't be allowing them to exercise their option. Any tenant that spends $4k to install permanent fixtures without your permission and then wants you to pay for it isn't a tenant that I would want staying.
Respond to their letter and tell them that first and foremost it is not "their" home. Tell them that your attorney will also be in touch because you are not responsible for their negligence. In addition they made permanent modifications to your property without your consent and that you can sue for any and all damages they caused.
Also tell them that you are within your legal rights to enter the property with proper notice (cite legal code) and let them know that if the alarm is armed and it draws a false response from the police that they will be responsible for any fines (most cities allow 1-2 false alarms per year before they assess a fine) Also - as the owner, you are entitled to an alarm code for the purpose of entry to your property and if their alarm prevents you from entering the property then that is a violation of their lease. If there is an emergency and they are on vacation, you need to be able to get in without setting off the alarm.
Hi, do you have any updates on your case?
I'm super curious as to how this turned out.
Also curious about this.
We figured if we evict and the house did not rent for 2 months it would cost more then the security system, the tenants have never been late so we decided to buy the security system. We repaired the water damage with a professional mold eradication company that did a amazing job. They tested for toxic mold and had everything documented to protect us against future possibility of being sued.