Updated over 6 years ago on . Most recent reply
Non-renewal of a lease for late rent
Currently I have a tenant who was 18 days late with rent this month and was wondering what other's opinions are on renewing a lease with such a tenant. The tenant had been late on two other occasions, but both were in the range of 4-6 days. This month I served her with a 14-day notice to pay or quit after the 6th day and she paid 2 days prior to the 14th day deadline.
The tenancy is up in September and I gave a notice that the lease will not be renewed because of late rent. In addition to late rent, the tenant is not very punctual about meeting to collect rent, has always paid in cash which is not preferred, and has someone living in the unit who is not on the lease, despite having gone over this as a violation of the lease agreement. Would others recommend continuing to rent to such a tenant or cutting ties to avoid things getting worse?
I am a first time investor living in a multifamily property where I am an owner-occupant of one of the units.
Most Popular Reply
Ah, the hellhole of Massachusetts for being a landlord...
Yes, it is going to be your word against hers, but the fact that you live there is going to add to ton of weight to your side if she says the other person doesn't live there. For proof, take notes/pictures of his car being there at night and in the morning every day. Make notes of when you see him entering and when you see him leaving. Check with the postman to see if he gets mail delivered there. There are ways to find out where his drivers license address is. It's not going to take much to tip the scale in your favor of likelihood of him living there.
And since you are in an anti-landlord state, I would consider hiring an attorney if you need to do an eviction.