Inheriting tenants with potential pet violation

[Anthony Pantuso]

Hello All!

I'm closing on a duplex in a couple of weeks. Both sides are occupied with leases that expire in June of next year. I've reviewed the leases. I believe that one tenant may have a dog, which is a violation of the lease. This tenant also is renting for about $500 under market. I know I can send them a notice to correct this issue and start the eviction process if they don't. My question is, can I instead use this as an opportunity to change the terms of the lease like increase the security deposit and charge them a pet fee per month?

[Drew Sygit]

@Anthony Pantuso you can go through the "nice-guy" process and learn about human nature, but in our experience, you have less than a 5% chance of success.