Property Manager · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2016 · 61 posts · 31 votes
Just went through the process of renting my first property! I used a lot of the resources from Brandon & Heather Turner's book on landlording. One of their rules in that book is absolutely no weapons or firearms. My rental is near a military base (well, several actually), and so a lot of my tenant base is military. Is an exception to that rule for service members and police officers a good idea? I don't know any active duty military members (or veterans even) who don't have firearms. It seems like they'll just lie on that rule and keep them anyway, and I think I'd rather know ahead of time if they have a gun on the premises.
I would absolutely love to hear how others approach this! Thanks in advance!
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
8y
No weapons ? Thats going to limit your tenant pool . people like to cut their steak with Knives ( a deadly weapon) Some people have baseball bats , golf clubs , hammers , screwdrivers . (All have been used as weapons ).
@Cassie Villela You may be concerning yourself with fire arms , guns , pistols things that go Bang . First , you are treading on their second amendment rights .Second you live in Texas , a pretty pro gun state .
Are you going to provide for your tenants safety and security ? Lets say the single mom with 1 kid . How do you provide for her protection ? If you forbid firearms that person could be helpless in case of a home invasion .
Even if you did forbid guns , how would you ever know if your tenant has 1 or 2 or 10 ? Unless you search the house , you wont . And when they use that same gun in self defense in their home ( your house) Are you going to evict them for protecting themselves ?
Rental Property Investor · Concord, GA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
I'm not even sure a landlord can legally prevent a tenant from possessing legally owned weapons. I've never addressed it on our rentals. Not sure what the issue would be.
Severna Park, MD · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
8y
No weapons ? Thats going to limit your tenant pool . people like to cut their steak with Knives ( a deadly weapon) Some people have baseball bats , golf clubs , hammers , screwdrivers . (All have been used as weapons ).
@Cassie Villela You may be concerning yourself with fire arms , guns , pistols things that go Bang . First , you are treading on their second amendment rights .Second you live in Texas , a pretty pro gun state .
Are you going to provide for your tenants safety and security ? Lets say the single mom with 1 kid . How do you provide for her protection ? If you forbid firearms that person could be helpless in case of a home invasion .
Even if you did forbid guns , how would you ever know if your tenant has 1 or 2 or 10 ? Unless you search the house , you wont . And when they use that same gun in self defense in their home ( your house) Are you going to evict them for protecting themselves ?
Catskill, NY · Member since 2018 · 636 posts · 668 votes
8y
I'm sure you're legally allowed to not allow firearms on your property...I just don't find it a good idea. A person with bad intentions is not going to tell you they have a gun (because they're most likely possessing it illegally), and a responsible person with a CC permit is just going to rent elsewhere. I'd also like to know how the rule would be enforced anyway. I guess you could look for guns/weapons during an inspection, but people aren't just going to leave their guns laying around if they know the landlord is showing up. I said this in another thread...just approach every situation as if the tenant was armed and if things get really bad between you and the tenant, let the Sheriff's dept. handle the eviction and keep your distance. I'm in NY where our governor/other politicians are basically trying to ban guns and I've never heard of a landlord not allowing guns.
Rental Property Investor · The Vampire State · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
8y
To add to @Chris Szepessy 's thoughts. Responsible law-abiding guns owners treat the care & custody of their firearms very seriously. "Looking for guns" during an inspection (which sounds intrusive at the very least and could be construed by the tenant as harassment) will probably not be productive. They are not under the mattress like on TV. They're stored in a safe and secure location, away from children. Most people I know who are anti-gun have little to no real-life experience with firearms, and use action movies as their sole frame of reference. But we all know Hollywood is not real life, right?
Guess I’m in the minority, no I do not allow weapons (guns) it’s in the lease. An exception for police and military is probably just fine. I also have a real estate license, and gun owners are not actually a protected class in terms of housing, so it’s perfectly fine to put this in your lease. No, you wouldn’t be searching units for guns, but a definite yes, you would have grounds to evict a tenant who waves a gun around on the property. Or worse, uses it.
Catskill, NY · Member since 2018 · 636 posts · 668 votes
8y
I think anyone who carelessly waves around/uses a gun for no reason should be evicted, whether there’s a no gun policy or not. Criminals don’t care about rules/laws.
I think anyone who carelessly waves around/uses a gun for no reason should be evicted, whether there’s a no gun policy or not. Criminals don’t care about rules/laws.
That's brandishing a firearm, which is a crime.
On the topic, I've often wondered about this. I've been on a number of apartment builds over the past couple years. I'm sure that there are more apartments here than the population requires. If I'm right, there is a lot of vacant units.
In an area with too little demand, what kind of tenants can a landlord get when they're stacking up requirements, requirements that would affect non-felons anyway?
Just went through the process of renting my first property! I used a lot of the resources from Brandon & Heather Turner's book on landlording. One of their rules in that book is absolutely no weapons or firearms. My rental is near a military base (well, several actually), and so a lot of my tenant base is military. Is an exception to that rule for service members and police officers a good idea? I don't know any active duty military members (or veterans even) who don't have firearms. It seems like they'll just lie on that rule and keep them anyway, and I think I'd rather know ahead of time if they have a gun on the premises.
I would absolutely love to hear how others approach this! Thanks in advance!
Sounds pretty invasive to me. I would never consider putting such a restriction in our leases.
Guess I’m in the minority, no I do not allow weapons (guns) it’s in the lease. An exception for police and military is probably just fine. I also have a real estate license, and gun owners are not actually a protected class in terms of housing, so it’s perfectly fine to put this in your lease. No, you wouldn’t be searching units for guns, but a definite yes, you would have grounds to evict a tenant who waves a gun around on the property. Or worse, uses it.
Whether you have it in your lease or not is somewhat immaterial. Would a judge uphold an eviction just because a tenant is lawfully owning a firearm ? I live in Texas so I am confident with no....maybe somewhere like Chicago. NY or DC where guns are "illegal"
I think anyone who carelessly waves around/uses a gun for no reason should be evicted, whether there’s a no gun policy or not. Criminals don’t care about rules/laws.
That's brandishing a firearm, which is a crime.
On the topic, I've often wondered about this. I've been on a number of apartment builds over the past couple years. I'm sure that there are more apartments here than the population requires. If I'm right, there is a lot of vacant units.
In an area with too little demand, what kind of tenants can a landlord get when they're stacking up requirements, requirements that would affect non-felons anyway?
Exactly. That was my point. A criminal doesn’t care about a no gun policy. 99% of (legal) gun owners are responsible and don’t carelessly display their gun or use it to commit crimes.
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 930 votes
8y
You can't forbid someone from owning firearms in their primary residence. You can forbid someone from having guns in YOUR primary residence. That book you read is garbage if they even suggested it. You will soon find that half of what you read in a book is outdated, and the rest doesn't apply.
Property Manager · San Antonio, TX · Member since 2016 · 61 posts · 31 votes
8y
Thank you all for your feedback! I wanted to disregard this suggested rule, but my husband was worried that it was there for a reason. I'm glad that I can confidently take that out now. :)
By the way, the book was Brandon Turner's book on managing rental properties. I found the rest of the advice very helpful...but maybe this one is one of those location specific things. Rural Washington might be a bit different culturally than Texas! ;)
Just thought I would chime in on this. There are only a few states that expressly prohibit restricting of guns in rental properties. It is quite common to see "no guns" signs in Chicago apartment high rises. I don't really see how this is enforceable? Really all you would be doing is adding an unnecessary rule that might rub tenants the wrong way. It will not enhance your own safety nor increase your profit margins. Before I was a property owner if a landlord had tried this I would have thrown the lease back in their face and taken my good paying job and reliable rent elsewhere. In my experience gun enthusiasts are also people that tend to pay their bills, just saying....
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
5y
@Cassie Villela I only have ever noticed one tenant who had a firearm in one of my Berwyn apartment buildings. He was retired military and was a great guy. I noticed it during an inspection because he had a small safe where he kept it in his closet. I never saw the firearm, and I can't imagine it posed any undue risk since he was responsible. He moved out after his year and that was it. I think this would be a waste of time to try to monitor personally.