Tenant Violated Lease by Having Boyfriend Move-in; What Can I Do?

Question

I have a 5 unit rental property. The other day, one of my tenants messaged me to say her roommate had let her boyfriend move in. She's upset that he doesn't contribute to bills, rent, or anything. I was unaware because this is an out-of-state property, and their rent was coming in each month. Anyway, the girl proceeded to tell me about her unfortunate living situation. This is a 2 bedroom unit, and she is the 3rd person. So she sleeps on the couch. One of the other roommates also doesn't live there anymore. I told her I would look into what I could do about this, and I noticed the lease does have a section about subletting. It says, "the number or names of the occupants cannot be increased or changed without the prior written consent of the Landlord."

I don't believe I can do anything about her unfortunate living situation. Her roommates seem to be taking advantage of her, but is there anything I can do about that?

They are in violation of the lease for this. I plan to start with a neutral inquiry to all tenants on the lease asking if there's been a change of occupancy and quoting the relevant portion of the lease. I want to protect the reporting tenant's identity.

If they confirm he's living there, I have a few options. I can require that he move out, allow him to apply, be screened and amend the lease to add him to it. (assuming his background check comes back clean). But, beyond amending the lease to put the boyfriend on there, what else can I do?

Now, if they deny he's living there, and the roommate tells me he's receiving mail at the property, which is objectively evidence of taking up residence somewhere, that's another set of problems. This property is in Ohio, and they have 3 more months on their lease. Is a lease violation like this cause for an eviction notice in Ohio? What sort of actions can I take if they deny he's living there?

Michael Eskenasy · Answer

I’d treat these as two separate issues.

The roommate conflict is probably theirs to work out. The part that belongs to you as the landlord is whether an unauthorized occupant is actually living there in violation of the lease.

I wouldn’t get too deep into trying to prove who is sleeping on the couch or who is paying utilities. I’d document what you’ve been told, follow the notice/cure process required for the property, and keep the communication narrowly focused on occupancy and the lease terms.

If he is actually living there, then you can decide whether you want the violation cured by having him leave or whether you’re willing to consider adding him after whatever screening process you normally use.

The biggest thing I’d avoid is turning this into mediation between the roommates. Enforce the lease consistently and let them sort out the interpersonal side.

Drew Sygit · Answer

Is this a Class C property?

Probably, given the situation.

Why does it matter?

Class C tenants can be animals and think they can do whatever they want, ignoring the lease and the law.

Challenge: they're paying rent on time. If you enforce the lease you'll probably lose the girlfriend. They may also "break" a few things on their way out to show you up:(

Dan H. · Answer

Your unit is in Ohio and I do not know the rules there.

In CA if you knowingly accept rent from someone not on the lease for staying in the unit you have created a tenancy. Not sure if it is the same in Ohio.

In CA, you provide a 3 day quit notice for lease violations. The tenant has 3 days to fix the lease issue or eviction can start. Evictions can take a long time but evictions are rarely required.

Going forward define a visitor in the lease, typically 2 weeks. Put a price on subleasing that exceeds renting a hotel room. If a tenant moves in someone not on the lease who has occupied longer than defined as a guest, they are a subleasor. The sublease fee can be used to leverage the tenant to vacate.

Good luck

Dan B. · Answer

So, I do not have a clause in the lease limiting guests to two weeks. I just bkught this property in March, and these are tenants I inherited. This situation is a first for me. Sounds like you've dealt with this before. How have you handled it in the past? What did your cure process entail?

Alan T. · Answer

Sorry on this one - we lean heavily on lease terms in general. I know you're inheriting the problem, but you'll want a use assignments/subletting section that spells out guests, any jokers that try to airbnb, sublet etc. Could be something to dig into more on future acquistions (e.g. the lease terms that you're getting setting up with).

Richard F. · Answer

Don't waste time trying to be coy and simply "asking" if there has been a change. You have been given notice of the situation, so send a formal Notice of Violation with the locally required time line to cure or be evicted. Quote the section from the rental agreement that covers it, as well as your section regarding "guests" limiting stays to usually 2 weeks...hopefully you have included that. Also, include on future agreements, where the tenants are listed, "and no others".

I certainly would not offer to simply accept an application from the new person, given that they displaced another, presumable authorized tenant.

Have the couch surfer document how many days, and if it is sporadic or continuous. One thing you can NOT do, is decide to charge for the "extra" person.

Richard F. · Answer

Sounds pretty typical. Mom qualified, moved in the kids, and now has found a new interest herself. She will move out, leaving you with a crash pad full of poorly performing, unscreened, headaches. Clearly you do not want to rely on this group to pay your mortgage for very long.

Send the legal violation notice certified mail, return receipt requested. Be sure the envelope and Notice names all three approved tenants. Be sure you include the prescribed amount of days to "cure" the violation. Follow through per local law depending on whether they cure or not. I would not add the boyfriend for any reason. Guaranteed he will not have a stellar background.

Richard F. · Answer

When is the current rental term ending for the offending roommate? How does the agreement read with regard to "Tenants", is everyone on one agreement, or is each bedroom (or person) a separate agreement, or was it just rented to one, "main" person that moved in everyone else?

Bottom line, you need to absolutely terminate all of the existing agreement(s) at the earliest lawful time, with proper legal notices. Run a full screen on any tenants that you want to keep, make sure they pass. Depending on the market, it probably would be best to NOT renew at least the one that moved in a boyfriend, kicking the other person to the couch.

Dan B. · Answer

Well, there's only 1 rental agreement for all 3 tenants, which is scheduled to end in December 2026. The lease names each of the 3 individuals, and they all initialed each page and signed at the end. The unit is a 2 bed unit, and the tenants are a mother, daughter, and the daughter's friend. The mother has her own room. Daughter and her friend share a room. The daughter's boyfriend stays in the room, which kicks the daughter's friend out to the couch. It seems the Mother has also essentially moved out and been staying at Grandma's house, but still has all her stuff in her bedroom. The daughter's friend (one on the lease) told me about the boyfriend living there and pleaded that I don't let the daughter know she was the one who told me about it. This is why I was going to send a generic letter to all 3 tenants asking if anything has changed. Assuming she comes clean and tells me about the boyfriend, I will offer to add him to the lease after a background/credit check. Does this sound like the correct course of action? Mom could be removed from the lease, get her stuff out, and couch surfer gets her own room. I do not think I'd want to renew their lease come December time-frame though.

Alan T. · Answer

1+ So much this.

A formal notice addresses this quickly, rip the band-aid type of approach is so much better, and in this case, isn't really that much of a band-aid. Obviously, make sure your notice is inline with your local regs and lease.

Tenant Violated Lease by Having Boyfriend Move-in; What Can I Do?

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