Hi everyone,

I finished up the rehab on my first rental property at the end of February and am already having major issues with my new tenants (despite using the screening techniques taught in The Book on Managing Rental Properties) .  I caught them subletting (written agreement and all) to another couple.  Initially, my tenant called me and said that they had had guests over for a few nights to help them get back on their feet and now are refusing to leave.  I had the police go to the property and attempt to remove the guests.  The officer called me and said that the guests had been living there for about 2 weeks at that point (he responded to a call a few weeks ago at my property and saw them living there).  He told me that they had established residency, he could not remove them, and that I would have to evict them.  After discussions with the guests and my tenants, I discovered that they were actually subletting and had paid a security deposit to my tenant.  I went to the property and gave written notice to the guests to vacate.  15 days will be Wednesday, April 10th.  After the 15th day, if they have not vacated, I will file for eviction.  I recently talked to the guests and they said that they will not leave because my tenant owes them their money back.  I told them that I'll still be filing for eviction on the 11th if they have not left (passing legal fees back to my tenant).  The guests said that they will be getting a lawyer as this is "not right".  I relayed to my tenant that it is likely more beneficial for them to pay whatever money is being requested instead of paying the cost of an eviction.  That is where I left it at this point.  I was wondering if anyone else has run into something like this and what advice you may have.  I'm shocked that someone can walk into my house, not on a lease, and "establish residency".  I have no idea who these people are and just want them gone!  I'll deal with the repercussions that my tenant will be facing after the guests leave.

Thanks in advance!

Marc   

WOW.  I wonder how much they are renting it for?  

You might want to get legal advice as you should be able to evict the 'guests' and the current tenants (whose names are on the lease) in one fell swoop.  This will also put the eviction on the record of the initial tenants to prevent this from happening to someone else.

You should evict the tenant you placed in the house for a violation of allowing someone else to move in.  

If you have to evict anyone, evict everyone!  

Your tenant will just move in someone else to pay his bills if you leave him in place.

The eviction will need to be for the person named on the lease and "all other occupants".  Then you can regain possession of your property.  All or nothing.  What does your lease say about subletting? What does it say about guests? It is fairly easy for a person to establish residency. To the police, this is civil matter, not a criminal matter. Unfortunately, you'll need to sort this out with your tenants (the one named on the lease and your accidental tenants) or take it to court.

Sorry this happened to you.

I'm not familiar with the specifics of your area, but the eviction process is what you may have to rely on.

First, look through your lease and verify that the tenant is in breach by subletting. What does it state about occupants staying longer than a defined period of time?

If the tenant is in breach, I would suggest talking to your tenant about the possibility of eviction if they do not stop subletting. It will be your tenant that will be named on court documents. I don't think talking with the guests will really solve anything since if the guests do leave, your tenant may just find other guests later.

If talk does not solve this situation, you may need an attorney. Generally, notice must be served to cure or quit. In your situation, it may be possible for a notice to vacate since there is a breach of lease. After a specified time if your tenant does not stop subletting or does not vacate, your attorney will file an unlawful detainer to remove the occupants. The length of this process will depend on the courts in your area and the experience and diligence of your attorney. Yes, this process is no fun.

Please note that I am not an attorney and am making suggestions based on my limited experience managing property. The laws in your area may be different and may or may not require different actions that the above. Good luck!

@Marc Izquierdo

In many states a “tenant” only has to have mail delivered in their name to establish residency. That’s ALL! Anyone can have mail sent to your property, proceed to break in, live there and the police won’t forcefully remove them. MAIL iS PROOF OF RESiDENCY! SMH!

Sorry you are learning so quickly.  You don't evict the sublessors alone, you evict them all - the tenants who caused you this trouble, and the sublessors!  And if you know the names of the sublessors, you name them.  If you don't, you name John and Jane Doe, in addition, of course, to your tenants.  Your tenants are horrible - they have created a nightmare for you right off the bat.  I hope you took the maximum security deposit from them, and that they have stable jobs out of which a judgement can be garnished, because you're going to be going to small claims court, too, to try to get your legal fees and back rent (which of course you will not see a dime of, as soon as you file against the tenants, too, but you HAVE to - they'll pull every trick in the book on you if you let them stay.)  Better to evict them all in one fell swoop.

Your planning on serving eviction notice to the wrong tenants. You must evict your tenant (and all others) not specifically the sublet tenants. You must evict the tenant on your lease. Restart the process by giving immediate notice to your tenant to cure or quit then proceed to evict him. He will be responsible for serving his sublet tenants with a eviction notice of his own if he wishes to satisfy your notice to cure or quit. You continue to evict him until his sublet tenants are out. Do not agree to put your eviction on hold to wait for his eviction to be successful. You do not want to keep this tenant.

^^^^^ What he said.

Evict everyone.  That’s the only way to solve your problem now. Hire an attorney and do it properly.  Then start over and no just know that no matter how much your screen your tenants somenkf the bad ones are going to fall thru the cracks of the process.  

How much does your tenant owe them? Have you considered cash for keys as an option?

@ Marc Izquierdo

Hi Mark,

Obviously the subleters are paying more than the legal tenant.

You should talk to your attorney about,

maybe vetting the subleters (for free), and if they qualify executing a new lease with them for the amount they are paying now (no turn cost, no down time losses).

and concurrently evict the tenant for subleasing.

If your lease prohibits subleasing, and the tenant did that, it might be fraud on the subleters.

They simply begin to pay you vs. paying the tenant.

You should talk to an attorney about this.

Good Luck!

Originally posted by @Bartosz Rosol :

How much does your tenant owe them? Have you considered cash for keys as an option?

I know this is preached on podcasts, but it is the wrong solution. The only way to legally regain rights to a property is eviction. They should evict the people named on the lease plus "all other occupants". Use a process server to hand deliver eviction papers to the property. 

Cash for keys is for extreme situations, not the first course of action ever.

Originally posted by @Bartosz Rosol :

How much does your tenant owe them? Have you considered cash for keys as an option?

 Cash for keys with the current occupants(Those subletting) would not solve the issue as you would still have a lease with a tenant that is current with their rent