My long term tenant is illegally Vacation Renting my Condo
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Upen PatelPro Member
Lender · Nationwide Lender · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 814 votes@Rob White Knows details, specifics about the situation would help. How did you find out? Where are they advertising the vacation rental? How to the vacation renters get access to the building/condo? Have you contacted the condo association and have them "lock out" everyone other then the real tenant?
Even if he has agreed to move out, hopefully in writing, you still want to send him an official notice each time you are aware of a lease term violation. If these violations do result in you being fined by the county, then you would be within your right to withhold deposit, and if necessary, sue them in small claims court to recover any access fine. They would have zero standing in the court.
How is he doing the vacation rental? Through Airbnb, VRBO, etc. If so, then call them serve them a notice of being participants in an illegal activity and demand that they free the account and ALL funds in it. You can go further and higher an attorney to get your the funds from such entities.
14 Replies
- Real Estate Broker · Wilmington, NC · Member since 2016 · 236 posts · 126 votes9y
Wow! That's a new one lol. Gotta love those tenants.
Sounds like he indeed violated your lease agreement. In my state, that means the lease would be terminated for the renter failing to meet terms. Call a property management firm tho because this is not a typical eviction and tenant deposit laws vary drastically state-by-state. Just don't take the tenants word that they're going to move out.
- 9yUpen PatelPro MemberLender · Nationwide Lender · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 814 votes
@Rob White Knows details, specifics about the situation would help. How did you find out? Where are they advertising the vacation rental? How to the vacation renters get access to the building/condo? Have you contacted the condo association and have them "lock out" everyone other then the real tenant?
Even if he has agreed to move out, hopefully in writing, you still want to send him an official notice each time you are aware of a lease term violation. If these violations do result in you being fined by the county, then you would be within your right to withhold deposit, and if necessary, sue them in small claims court to recover any access fine. They would have zero standing in the court.
How is he doing the vacation rental? Through Airbnb, VRBO, etc. If so, then call them serve them a notice of being participants in an illegal activity and demand that they free the account and ALL funds in it. You can go further and higher an attorney to get your the funds from such entities.
- Residential Real Estate Broker · Greenville, NC · Member since 2015 · 164 posts · 90 votes9y
Interesting. I would begin the eviction process just to show the county that I began the process in hopes they would not fine me (owner) and understanding the situation. This action would also be in process if the tenant doesn't move based on your verbally agreed upon time. Otherwise, you would be giving him more time by not filing eviction papers on the 46th day.
Seems to me this is a breach of the lease and potentially forfeiting the deposit but I would check with a local attorney for verification.
- 9yColleen F.Pro MemberInvestor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
How are the vacation renters getting access? I would try to intervene there as well if the tenant is using any service for this. Have a friend try to rent the place to get more info.
Does he have a local PM or relator that handles the rental, let them know the situation. Make it harder for the tenant to get renters in, in this case I would remove any key code locks if you have them.
- 9yKim Meredith HamptonBusiness MemberReal Estate Broker · St Petersburg · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
@Rob White I would check with a landlord tenant attorney today about serving the right notice for breach of lease. Them you could move forward with an eviction and filing a judgement against the tenant, hopefully this will stop them in heir next attempt at the next unsuspecting landlord. We found one of our tenants doing this on airbnb, noticed them withbthe violation and they moved out the next day!! Win win, but doesn't always turn out that way, better To be safe than getting to the 46th day and they are still there and you have to start all over , when your probably could have had them out already
- Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes9y
check you state landlord tenant laws. Give proof of service for eviction to county official , contact the county official that gave you the fine and let them know your working to get the issue resolved as fast as possible, include with your filing the notice from county about improper use for rental of the unit.
File for cause usually less that 3 day hearing for that. and inspect before you file, if it's empty maybe they'll agree to vacate asap and give you the keys.. So tell them key's now or your filing... follow landlord tenant laws for deposit, court fees and whatever else you can charge them for.
- Investor · Zürich, Zürich · Member since 2016 · 292 posts · 115 votes9y
All good advice here given above. I'd go see a qualfied lawyer immediately as you are not only facing potential fines but also should get the money from your tenant which he/she most likely made on renting that place out (hello, HI!), i.e. profiting from your property without consent/contract. There are several issues here, some of which could cost you serious money. In addition, you should make that bastard pay, daring to profit from your property while at the same time violating the lease. So wrong on many levels! Make him/her pay. But get proper advice on next steps and don't do it on your own so as to not end up doing it wrong.
- Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes9y
Serve notice to evict and inform your tenant if you are find the $1000/day you will be taking him to court for compensation. Slow play the eviction so as not to waste money as it is only to show your intent if he does not leave.
Don't panic, as long as he is paying rent, advertise the unit for rent and just sit back and see what happens.
- Realtor · Oakland, CA and a Real Estate Investor with Multi-Family Units and a Self Storage Facility · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes9y
This may be out of left field but check in the language of the lease you have with the tenant and see if you have something in there regarding tenant is responsible for any damages/fines that result from them, etc etc.........................There may be a "creative" way for you to let the tenant know that they will be responsible for the $1,000 a day fine that the city tries to ding you with.....
Oh and get it in writing, somehow immediately....even if it's a text message as to when they "say" they are moving out.
- Real Estate Broker · Windsor, CT · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 268 votes9y
Wow this is an interesting topic. I would definitely suggest beginning the eviction process on this tenant. He/she has already voided their lease. I would begin eviction process and take those documents to the town where you are receiving the fine from to show that it is the tenant and not you directly/that you have began an eviction on the tenant.
- Real Estate Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2016 · 73 posts · 47 votes9y
@Rob White I'd like to know the actual legal avenues that we can take in Hawaii for future knowledge so please when you do find some Hawaii state laws about this post them back here for others in Hawaii to gain that knowledge as well.
- Waianae, HI · Member since 2016 · 111 posts · 47 votes9y
Each county in Hawai'i has different rules and regulations:
Hawaii County’s Zoning Code requires anyone wanting to operate a B&B obtain a use or special use permit from the Planning Department. Applying for the permit costs about $500.
Statewide, B&Bs are banned on Oahu unless grandfathered in before a 1989 ban went into effect. Maui and Kauai counties require use permits. I see you are from Maui and each area has permit limits see http://www.co.maui.hi.us/1206/Bed-and-Breakfast-Pe...:
Act 204 of the 2015 Hawai'i state Legislature requires all advertisements listing short-term rentals to include a tax registration identification number. Individuals who do their own advertising – online or otherwise – are now also required to include their registration number. The law says citations may be issued to any noncompliant listing site, with fines between $500 and $5,000 a day. Violators could also be subject to criminal penalties, including up to a year in jail.
O`ahu, you must have a permit from the City and County of Honolulu in order to offer rentals for periods less than 30 days.
Again, unfortunately, the City and County of Honolulu stopped issuing these permits in 1989 and has no mechanism to issue those permits and no plans to create a process (why? Well, the rich hotel and tourist industry had lobbyist to keep the 99% of business in Waikiki vicinity, but hey that's another topic).
All that is mentioned, protect yourself. Start the eviction process.
For example, you must give you five days’ notice to tenant to pay the rent or leave (Hawaii Rev. Stat. § 521-68) before filing an eviction lawsuit. This is for rental payment, sometimes days of notice can be 10 days or more. Seek a landlord lawyer for legal advice.
In, HRS Section Landlord's remedies for absence, misuse, abandonment and failure to honor tenancy before occupancy
(c) Unless otherwise provided in the rental agreement, use of the dwelling unit by the tenant for any other purpose than as the tenant's abode, or nonuse of the dwelling unit, constitutes a breach of the tenant's obligations under section 521-52 and entitles the landlord to proceed as provided in section 521-72.
Here is section 521-72:
HRS Section Landlord's remedies for improper use.
(a) If the tenant breaches any rule authorized under section 521-52, the landlord may notify the tenant in writing of the tenant's breach. The notice shall specify the time, not less than ten days, within which the tenant is required to remedy the breach and shall be in substantially the following form:
No allowance of time to remedy the breach of any rule authorized under section 521-52 shall be required when the breach by the tenant causes or threatens to cause damage to any person or constitutes a violation of section 521-51(l) or (6).
Sorry for the length. You can look up more here: https://www.mauimapp.com/toc/govlantentoc.htm
Best of luck and keep us posted.
Much aloha,
Danny
- Real Estate Agent · Kilauea, HI · Member since 2015 · 95 posts · 27 votes9yDanny F. To clarify, you don't need a special use permit on Kauai if your property is located in one of Kauai's Visitor Destination Areas (VDAs), which are, generally, Princeville on the North Shore, Poipu on the South Shore and the resort areas of Kapaa/Wailua and Lihue. Outside of those areas, you needed to have operated a vacation rental prior to the ruling in 2008 and have obtained a permit to be grandfathered in. Hope that helps. I'm happy to help guide anyone looking to obtain a vacation rental property on Kauai.
- Makawao, HI · Member since 2013 · 25 posts · 10 votes8y
Aloha All,
This is a very late reply for all the help that was given by the members above. But if someone gets into this situation, I want them to know how it was handled And they can message me anytime for tips.
So, I did let the county know that I received their letter of the $1000 a day fine for vacation renting and informed them of my issue (owning the unit, but Tentant illegally subletting unit for vacation rental unbeknownst to me).
Maui County was understanding and the landlord tenant hotline (free) we have here gave me some tips for eviction procedures.
Note: The hotline in Hawaii is awesome. Yes, they may be a bit bias towards the tenant a lot of the time, but the employees were livid about my tenant Vacation renting the unit when we have an affordable housing shortage.
My tenant did have several more vacation renters in the unit after I gave her the eviction, but she did agree to leave after the 45 days.
The place was trashed, so I did keep her deposit, which didn’t cover all the damage done to the unit. But, in Hawaii, you are not intitled to the deposit for the gross breach of contact alone as some friends thought.
I assume this does and will continue to happen to many landlords because the money is so good in Vacation renting units here. Make sure your contacts are solid against sublet/vacation renting and know that you have me as a resource if needed.
I could write another 1000 words on the back and forth between the tenant and myself, but I’ll save you the details unless you find yourself in the same situation.
Mahalo, Rob
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