rental yard distroyed by tenants dog, what do I do?

Question

I have had the same renter for many years now, in a not so nice area. When the tenant moved in the yard was just ok, was graded  , dirt and little bits of grass. Now after recent heavy rains I am informed a month later that water came in the back door and has ruined the floor, needs the whole room replaced. Upon inspection I see that the yard had brick installed creating a pool at the door and 2 dogs I did not know about, {she had one original allowed},ruined the drainage system by digging large holes and mounding the dirt so the water heads toward the house. There was trash all over , broken furniture , wood and piles of junk ,god know how many piles of dog poop, and an inch thick of dog hair!  When I spoke to them about the situation I told the tenant this was unacceptable and disgusting... now she says I am a different culture from her and the way I speak to her is not "ok" and she made it sound like I was being  prejudice when I mention all the things that are wrong with the property......I do like them , they are a nice family just might be a bit clueless or just playing dumb, have ad a leaking faucet for years and never mentioned it... etc etc.. Sooo I am wondering what is my recourse now, they pay the rent and that's hard to find for the neighborhood...and I would like them to stay but the damages far exceed their security deposit.They say that their dogs did not cause the damage to the home.

Heidi Lapoloma · Answer

The last time I inspected the backyard was about a year to maybe 10 months ago , when they let a simple fix of a new wax ring on the toilet flow water for several months not telling me and ruined the tile floor. At that time I saw no other dogs and the yard was not in that condition. They said they had the dogs about 6 months or a year now?? Never mentioned that they had more dogs. I drive by the home about every 3 months and the front is kept up. She has no renters insurance, it is a poorer neighborhood and I believe they are already struggling to get by but so is my family ...this is our income. I do not want to make things more difficult for them but these repairs are going to be very costly for me. She detects that I am angry with the tone of voice I am using with her and she is correct , I am pissed but I am not yelling at her or insulting her, never mentioned race. Race has nothing to do with the state of a home or damage a dog does.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Does she have insurance?  Take someone with you in case she tries to make you feel uncomfortable.  Perhaps pay a property manager.  Take lots of photos.  If there are holes everywhere, along with piles of dirt and they added a patio which affected the drainage, it is hard to argue that they didn't contribute to the problem.  As for the interior of the home, tell them you are coming by to do an inspection.

Greg M. · Answer

The biggest issue is that it sounds like you are failing to inspect the property. When was the last time you walked through the property and the yard to make sure everything was OK? These issues didn't happen overnight. Your failure to inspect allowed this to happen over time.

She can pull the race card as many times as she wants. Let her know that this is your property and it being unclean and not maintained is unacceptable to you, a violation of the lease, and you don't care if in her culture this is acceptable. It is not acceptable to you and a violation of the lease and that is all that matters. If she is unhappy and feels disrespected, you're OK with letting her out of her lease without penalty today!

Set out a list of issues that need to be corrected. Give her a timeline of when it needs to be corrected. Let her know when you will be inspecting the property. Actually inspect the property during the year. It can be as simple as driving by and looking at the yard or a comprehensive assessment of everything inside the unit.