Tenants not on the lease threaten with attorney

Seattle, Washington
Legal & Legislation
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Tenants not on the lease threaten with attorney

Darrell B.Pro Member
Member since 2019 · 22 posts · 5 votes

Hey Guys,

My brother has a rental in Shoreline, Washington and rented to a friend. Pretty standard SFH with a lease. The friend ended up letting one of HIS own friends live there with his wife and child while he lived somewhere else.(So for clarification, the friend that is on the lease is not living there while this secondary friend is living there with a wife and child). He did this with full communication with my brother and my brother was fine with the situation. The family living in the house pays rent straight to my brother as if they were the ones on the lease.

The friend that is on the lease still helped with communication between the family and my brother. As time went on there were some complaints about mold being in the home and my brother was quick to get the problem fixed. The family still complained about mold because their child had a health issue and the doctor says the mold was part of the problem. The family claims the home is unlivable and wants my brother to pay for their housing until the place can be livable. He has already given them 2 free months of rent during this whole process. The family mentioned they would seek out an attorney but we're not sure if this is real or just a bluff. 

Our thoughts are that they don't have any say on anything because there is no lease with them, so are they just squatters? 

Any advice or thoughts on them having a case with an attorney? Is this something we should not worry about and just get them out?

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Gregory SchwartzBusiness Member
Rental Property Investor · College Station, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y

"You'll hear from my lawyer!" 

Of the 20+ times we've been threatened with litigation, we only actually spoke to two lawyers. One was the tenants second cousin who was a corporate lawyer. And only one time did we actually speak to a competent lawyer, and we ended up just letting the tenant out of their lease.

Call their bluff and ask for the name of the law firm, lawyers name and contact info. 

Oh and hire a property manager. Most will recommend that you never sublet or allow people to live in the house that are not on the lease and properly screened. 

[email protected]443-812-0357
Schwartz Realty Group5118 Reviews
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  • Bill B.
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    3y

    PLEASE have him hire a property manager. He has already paid more with the free rent than the PM would have cost. This is all assuming he hasn’t violated any local, state or federal housing laws. There shouldn’t be anyone living in the house not on a lease. 

    Please tell them to leave the property tomorrow. If the property is making their child sick why would they stay? I assume he’s trying not to lose the property to a lawsuit. Have him explain his situation to the PM and confirm they are comfortable dealing with it and have legal experts they use. 

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  • Gregory SchwartzBusiness Member
    Rental Property Investor · College Station, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    "You'll hear from my lawyer!" 

    Of the 20+ times we've been threatened with litigation, we only actually spoke to two lawyers. One was the tenants second cousin who was a corporate lawyer. And only one time did we actually speak to a competent lawyer, and we ended up just letting the tenant out of their lease.

    Call their bluff and ask for the name of the law firm, lawyers name and contact info. 

    Oh and hire a property manager. Most will recommend that you never sublet or allow people to live in the house that are not on the lease and properly screened. 

    [email protected]443-812-0357
    Schwartz Realty Group5118 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Darrell B.Pro Member
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 22 posts · 5 votes
    3y

    @Bill B. Yeah, he wants to make sure he won't be able to have anything against him in a lawsuit but soon as this is over he wants to hire a property manager. I like the idea of hiring one now and maybe using their legal experts. Thanks for the reply.

    1Reply
  • Darrell B.Pro Member
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 22 posts · 5 votes
    3y

    @Gregory Schwartz  Thanks for your response and input. Yeah he will be getting a property manager after this situation. This is a good learning experience. 

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  • Bill B.
    Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    3y

    @Darrell B.

    A few things. Yes, hiring the PM now should get you access to their recommended legal council, and maybe a discount on their services. But more importantly, someone they think is qualified and that wants to impress a client with existing and repeat business. Not a new guy off the stree.

    Second, you can reply to everyone in one post by just starting a new paragraph and saying thank you @user1 and good idea @user2 and so on…

    Lastly. If you do decide to call their bluff. Try this. I too have been threatened with a “I’ll get a lawyer, I have a lawyer, you’ll hear from my lawyer…”  I respond with “Ok, I can’t talk to you any more. My lawyer said once someone says they have a lawyer, stop talking and have their lawyer call them directly…” Every single time they kept talking and suddenly wanted to try to solve the problem without a lawyer  

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  • Ryan XuPro Member
    Real Estate Broker · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2020 · 95 posts · 65 votes
    3y

    If they did it right and took care of the mold in time. With the record, receipt, email communication record, and after-treatment test result as proof. They should not be scared of lawsuits.

    Meanwhile, get everything together and start to talk with attorneys right now. Stop replying, and hire a PM!

    Mold is a serious problem in WA. But not something they should pay 2 months of rent as cost plus everything you mention.

    [email protected]
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  • Chris London
    Property Manager · Raleigh/Durham NC · Member since 2015 · 210 posts · 293 votes
    3y

    @Darrell B.

    Tenancy seems to be a secondary issue that may be complicated by the owners seemingly clear verbal approval of this subletter.

    The question really is one of mold and what mold laws are in the state of Washington.

    Sounds like professional mold remediation was already attempted so there are clearly details missing about what the gap is between that mold remediation and the tenants currant complaints.

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  • Julien J.
    Investor · CO · Member since 2016 · 757 posts · 1k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Darrell B.:

    @Bill B. Yeah, he wants to make sure he won't be able to have anything against him in a lawsuit but soon as this is over he wants to hire a property manager. I like the idea of hiring one now and maybe using their legal experts. Thanks for the reply.


     That would be my move as well. 

    Another item to consider requiring renter's insurance which can help the tenants recoup damages from mold, but also may put them up in temporary accommodations if the home is unlivable.

    For the owners, I always recommend a to have "loss of rent" on their insurance. Those "free rent" months would have been covered by the insurance. A great way to keep tenants happy and not lose out on rent.

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  • Ned J.Pro Member
    Investor · Manteca, CA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    3y

    The sublet tenants should vacate the property immediately and find a new place to live long term. According to them the house is no livable, their child has health issues and they aren't even on the lease For multiple reasons they need to vacate NOW. This should not be " we will fix the issue and you can move back in". They are welcome to leave right now with no penalty and full deposit back.... but I'm not paying for your new rental. 

    And as stated above... as soon as they start talking lawsuit, it should be " I can no longer speak with you directly, this needs to be handled direct lawyer to lawyer"...most people change their tune. 

    On a side note..... do PM's take on existing situations like this? If there are already existing issues like this, do PM's take that LL on as a new client? Just curious how PM's handle taking on this client with day one big issues to already handle

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