tenant problem in Providence RI

[Richard Moreno]

Hello BP,

I am having issues with my property in Providence! It's a 3 family  in the Mt. Hope area which is a nice neighborhood. 1st floor I have it rented to my daughter. 3rd floor I have some tenants that came with the house when I bought it, I'm actually trying to evict them for non payment, but that story is for another time. My issue is with the 2nd floor unit, which by the way I spent all summer renovating it.  I thought I was going to get it rented quick but it took longer than expected  so finally this month I got it rented to a woman and her husband and 2 kids. Not even a week went by and the husband is hanging around outside drinking with his buddies, and they put all this stuff in the basement without permission!2days ago the husband decides to hit his wife ( my daughter could hear the whole thing! ) Then someone that was there started beating up the husband, well deserved !  My daughter calls the police and they arrest the husband. 

But now I dont know what to do? the husband is back home and I honestly want them out ! can I evict them ? its not even a month and I'm dealing with all kind of S***. I haven't even seen if there was damage to the unit ( that I gave to them brand new ).

[Brandon Ingegneri]

Im sorry to hear this. When you say Mount Hope, are you referring to the Camp Street neighborhood?  If so, it is a transitional neighborhood. It really is street by street as far as what you are getting.  Its one of those areas where you need to be very familiar with the area and the subsections of the city to know the "boundaries" within the neighborhood.  

Having said that, do you have a month to month lease, a one year lease, etc?  If it is a month to month, I would send out the termination of tenancy.  Give them the 30 day notice, and have them out prior to 12/1. That is your best case scenario.  The other issues that you are mentioning can be handled to varying extents depending on the language in your lease.  If you have language addressing certain issues, it will make life much easier.  If not, your going to have to go down there and lay the law down with these people if you don't have a management company doing it for you already.  

If you have a year lease, breaking it for reasons other than nonpayment can be done, but it makes it much better with solid, consistent documentation, and documentation of clear lease violations with written notices given to tenants.  The more of a paper trail, the better.  The current judge sitting on these cases in Providence right now is pretty liberal, and it is generally an uphill battle unless you have a comprehensive argument to present and a solid attorney presenting it.  

The only other option would be to incentivize their move.  If you'd like to discuss further, or need assistance, please let me know.  Im very active in the area, and taking a nonperforming property and making it a valuable asset is something that I have done a number of times for other owners and my properties alike upon purchase and inheriting tenants.