Tenants boyfriend failed background check, let him on as guest?

FL · Member since 2016 · 912 posts · 107 votes

Female tenant living alone. I gave her a notice because she had her boyfriend staying there when she was not home. I told her I could add him to the lease if he passed a background check. He did not pass. Now, do I trespass him? Do I have the legal authority to trespass him if he's not causing problems at the park? Or do I continue to allow him on the property as long as she is home? It was a drug offense.

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Derrick E.

Investor · The Creek, WV · Member since 2014 · 890 posts · 1k+ votes

Cannabis? Seriously? Nothing wrong with toking it up every now and then. That's not a true criminal offense.

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Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Patrick Philip:

Female tenant living alone. I gave her a notice because she had her boyfriend staying there when she was not home. I told her I could add him to the lease if he passed a background check. He did not pass. Now, do I trespass him? Do I have the legal authority to trespass him if he's not causing problems at the park? Or do I continue to allow him on the property as long as she is home? It was a drug offense.
like getting caught with a joint or manufacturing meth? How long ago?
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Patrick Philip
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FL · Member since 2016 · 912 posts · 107 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Brie Schmidt:

Originally posted by @Patrick Philip:
Female tenant living alone. I gave her a notice because she had her boyfriend staying there when she was not home. I told her I could add him to the lease if he passed a background check. He did not pass. Now, do I trespass him? Do I have the legal authority to trespass him if he's not causing problems at the park? Or do I continue to allow him on the property as long as she is home? It was a drug offense.
like getting caught with a joint or manufacturing meth? How long ago?
Misdemeanor pot charge, 2 years ago.
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Matthew Paul
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
8y
A Misdemeanor ? Give the guy a break .
4 Reply
Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
8y
@Patrick Philip - If you met the guy and your gut instinct wasn't a bad one, and then this came up I would be lenient.
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Account Closed
Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2017 · 366 posts · 165 votes
8y
Gotta love your first world problem. Joking aside, really depends on your local liability concerns. In Oak Park IL you could lose landlord license, for not booting him, not likely but it could happen.
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Derrick E.
Investor · The Creek, WV · Member since 2014 · 890 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
Cannabis? Seriously? Nothing wrong with toking it up every now and then. That's not a true criminal offense.
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Patrick Philip
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FL · Member since 2016 · 912 posts · 107 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Account Closed:

Gotta love your first world problem. Joking aside, really depends on your local liability concerns. In Oak Park IL you could lose landlord license, for not booting him, not likely but it could happen.
Is it rough over there in Illinois?
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Patrick Philip
OP
FL · Member since 2016 · 912 posts · 107 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Derrick E.:

Cannabis? Seriously? Nothing wrong with toking it up every now and then. That's not a true criminal offense.
It in fact is a true criminal offense according to the law in Florida.
I hate drugs. It is a drug.
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Derrick E.
Investor · The Creek, WV · Member since 2014 · 890 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Patrick Philip:

Originally posted by @Derrick E.:
Cannabis? Seriously? Nothing wrong with toking it up every now and then. That's not a true criminal offense.
It in fact is a true criminal offense according to the law in Florida.
I hate drugs. It is a drug.
It has many medicinal values, but to each their own.
I hate pop, cigarettes, alcohol, and tylenol....all of which kill people every single year. Cannabis has never killed anyone. Plus the guy had a misdemeanor. That could literally be from having seeds/stems or a roach in his car.
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George SkidisPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Belleville, IL · Member since 2017 · 875 posts · 529 votes
8y
As a landlord you should always both a "Crime Free Housing" Addendum and a "Drug Free Housing" addendum to your lease. Most police departments can help you get these.
You have two options to consider. You can either enforce your rules now or waive them in this instance. If you waive them now you need to be prepared to waive them for others in the future.
Is this a mobile home park? If so does the park own the home or the resident?
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Derrick E.
Investor · The Creek, WV · Member since 2014 · 890 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @George Skidis:

As a landlord you should always both a "Crime Free Housing" Addendum and a "Drug Free Housing" addendum to your lease. Most police departments can help you get these.
You have two options to consider. You can either enforce your rules now or waive them in this instance. If you waive them now you need to be prepared to waive them for others in the future.
Is this a mobile home park? If so does the park own the home or the resident?
He's not doing drugs or breaking the law right now, at least not that anyone knows. I guess you never speed on the interstate?
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Cisco Hood
Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2017 · 41 posts · 7 votes
8y
Just my opinion but If it was my rental i would be more worried about an alcohol problem than a pot problem. My point being if alcohol is legal pot should be legal everywhere as well, it's the safer choice of the two.
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Account Closed
Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2017 · 366 posts · 165 votes
8y
Yes, Oak Park IL requires the crime free housing lease addendum that George mentioned. It's not so much that IL is rough with drug laws, Oak Park while affluent borders the high crime Austin neighborhood. So keeping crime out of Oak Park is a daunting task.
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Patrick Philip
OP
FL · Member since 2016 · 912 posts · 107 votes
8y
Originally posted by @George Skidis:

As a landlord you should always both a "Crime Free Housing" Addendum and a "Drug Free Housing" addendum to your lease. Most police departments can help you get these.
You have two options to consider. You can either enforce your rules now or waive them in this instance. If you waive them now you need to be prepared to waive them for others in the future.
Is this a mobile home park? If so does the park own the home or the resident?
It is a mobile home park. 8 spaces. That's why I'm worried. I don't want everyone to start selling drugs to each other. If it was SFH, I wouldn't worry.
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Hernell D.
Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 67 posts · 35 votes
8y
Caffeine’s a drug, Tylenol’s a drug, Marijuana’s a drug. All can potentially have negative effects but all can have positive uses if used correctly and responsibly. If you have reason to believe this guy is selling weed from your property or dealing drugs in general get them out of there but if it’s a prior charge for potentially having a little weed in his possession you might want to rethink kicking them out. It’s your investment and your rules but keep in mind all “crime” is not created equal.
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Jim Robertson
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2014 · 102 posts · 41 votes
8y
@Patrick Philip I would think really hard about your minimum standards and qualifications. You may want to write down items that you will not compromise on and items that you would consider. I have a list of "hard no" items that I tell tenants before accepting an application. For me, it's must make three times rent in gross monthly income, no history of evictions, no violent offenses or felonies. This goes for anyone over 18 living in the unit. For other things that I consider a maybe, I let the tenant know I will look at the big picture.
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Jon Holdman
Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
8y
My written criteria state no felonies in the last five years and no more than three misdemeanors in the last five years. If someone asks, I have lists of felonies and misdemeanors. With just one misdemeanor two years ago, he would pass my criteria.
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Patrick Philip
OP
FL · Member since 2016 · 912 posts · 107 votes
8y
Originally posted by @Hernell D.:

Caffeine’s a drug, Tylenol’s a drug, Marijuana’s a drug. All can potentially have negative effects but all can have positive uses if used correctly and responsibly. If you have reason to believe this guy is selling weed from your property or dealing drugs in general get them out of there but if it’s a prior charge for potentially having a little weed in his possession you might want to rethink kicking them out. It’s your investment and your rules but keep in mind all “crime” is not created equal.
Marijuana is a little more mind altering than caffeine or Tylenol.
1 Reply
Elliot Vann
Passaic, NJ · Member since 2017 · 65 posts · 42 votes
8y
Be very careful! We just had a tenant who we didn’t background check. They were a nightmare for everyone in the building. Between their crazy disturbances and the random people they allowed in the building it was a bad situation. In New Jersey evictions are a nice process and it took a few months to evict them and now we’re losing about 4-5 tenants because of the whole ordeal. If it’s in an area that’s easy to find tenants than you could be strict and not allow him in, because while he could be no issue let someone else take that risk. But if you won’t find a new tenant for a couple months then just be tough about it and watch the situation like a hawk.
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Account Closed
Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2017 · 366 posts · 165 votes
8y
Someone with a minor drug conviction could have pleaded it down. Criminals are drawback of MULTI's put a greater part pf your portfolio at risk.
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David Weintraub
Lender · Berkeley, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 549 votes
8y
But this guy can probably drink all day and get in a bar fight....for that would be fine..... Please. Give it a rest. I don’t smoke pot but you can’t be serious. It’s like 5 years from being legal EVERYWHERE.
2 Reply
Derrick E.
Investor · The Creek, WV · Member since 2014 · 890 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
Originally posted by @Patrick Philip:

Originally posted by @Hernell D.:
Caffeine’s a drug, Tylenol’s a drug, Marijuana’s a drug. All can potentially have negative effects but all can have positive uses if used correctly and responsibly. If you have reason to believe this guy is selling weed from your property or dealing drugs in general get them out of there but if it’s a prior charge for potentially having a little weed in his possession you might want to rethink kicking them out. It’s your investment and your rules but keep in mind all “crime” is not created equal.
Marijuana is a little more mind altering than caffeine or Tylenol.
Please tell me how much cannabis you have smoked in your life?
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David Weintraub
Lender · Berkeley, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 549 votes
8y
Just a little education for some of you who may be totally out of the loop.
My friends in California own "The Guild" in San Jose, a dispensary focusing on medical uses only. 2-3 years ago I was sick/nauseous to the point of not being able to function from an opioid prescribed to me by a doctor because of surgery I was having. It was a nightmare.
So my friend gave me a CBD oil, which is the medicinal component of marijuana, and also doesn't get you "stoned." I inhaled this oil through a pen, and within SECONDS I was right as rain. Nausea gone. Functionality back.
Yet for many people who don't have access to these things, marijuana with both THC and CBD components are the only thing they have access to. In fact, I'm sure the majority of football players who smoke marijuana do so for the medical component without even realizing that's the case because it is without question the best pain management drug in the world.
Now I'm not suggesting this person who was arrested for marijuana was using for this reason, but it's actually possible it treated some depression issue, or something else. Or maybe he just liked being stoned. I don't know. But short of having some other "criminal" issue on his record, I would likely let that slide. I know my firm would, and we're literally giving people money.
Many times marijuana is called a "gateway drug", which is absurd. But I've noticed that it's more likely a "gateway offense" which causes a lifetime of headache and heartache for people who are otherwise doing little, to nothing, wrong.
#soapbox
And I don't even smoke!!!
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Michael Jones
Investor · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 199 posts · 253 votes
8y
An eight unit trailer park in the Midwest? If you are going to keep out anyone that has or does smoke weed recreationally in your park you should go there on a Friday night after payday around 10:30 and start knocking on doors. Take about five notices with you for violation of leases because my bet is more than half of your current tenants are lighting up already. Especially if they are not elderly tenants. Look at it this way, if you are above the age of 30 and your skills and education have you peaked out at a career that will only provide renting a trailer in the midwest you probably are not making choices like where am I going to send my children to college, is our passports up to date for our summer trip to Spain, where can I get my BMW serviced? But, I just got paid and Randall text me and said "man I got some real funk here. You need to get some of this before it's gone" might be cause to get me a little excited. And, seriously, what is a pot head going to do? Sit on the couch and get full of brownies and smoke a little more and listen to bad music like the Grateful Dead. They are not gonna suddenly join forces and riot through the wheeled jungle of mobile homes leaving death and destruction behind them. Now, it it is heroine, meth, even distribution of pot......get serious and get them out. Stoners that have a job and one misdemeanor......sign the lease right here please. And before assumptions are made I have not smoked weed in 30 years. I am just a landlord that finds them easy to work with because the have no real agenda except getting high and relaxing.
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Account Closed
Downers Grove, IL · Member since 2017 · 366 posts · 165 votes
8y
Some people take investment talk way to personally. I have a good tenant that is a pot head. It's still a portfolio risk, received complaints from others regarding odors. Ignoring criminal convictions is probably worse than being obsessed over them, risk is best thought of as balance act.
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