All Forum Posts by: Paul D.

Thanks to all for your advice.

@Jerry W. Yes, the lease prohibits people from moving in without my approval.

@Shannon Slade Yes, the lease specifies that guests cannot stay for longer than one week without my approval (it's been only a few days since the son-in-law's return, however).

I have heard from Ms D, who has confirmed that her son in law (and his wife and children, who were all there before this mess began), has indeed moved back in. Even though she has presented a compelling case to assure me that no further issues will arise as long as her father moves out, I am inclined to side with the sentiment echoed in this thread and let them know that they must vacate the premises.

I've never done an eviction. If any of them put up any resistance, what's the worst case for me? Losing out on 1-2 months' rent?

Summary of the Issue

A family that I am renting out to had some internal quarrels recently. In the process, a door was broken, and the tenant responsible for that property damage (herein referred to as the "problem tenant") moved out. Locks were changed and a new lease was signed that did NOT include the problem tenant. 

Today I received an email from one of the two responsible parties on the lease. The tenant informed me that his co-tenant has allowed the problem tenant to move back in AND has decided that she will not allow her co-tenant (the one who sent the email) to live in the house any longer.

The tenant who emailed me is asking that I release him from the lease if I decide to offer the parties who are now occupying the home a new lease.

That's the short version. My question is how to proceed? For those who are willing to advise me, below are more details of the situation.

Location: Idaho

The Players

    - Mr F - father of Ms D; the tenant who wrote me the email this morning. 

    - Ms D - daughter of Mr F

    - Mr P - son in law of Ms D; aka "problem tenant"

Timeline

2016-10 - Enter lease with Mr F, Ms D, and Mr P.

2017-05 - Receive detailed report from Ms D of problem with her son-in-law, Mr P. The report stated that there is an issue between Mr P and Mr F; Mr P demanded that Mr F move out. It also documented how Mr P kicked in and damaged a door. Also included is a statement submitted to the police regarding Mr P's behavior. In a subsequent email, Mr P is accused of damaging the personal property of Mr F.

2017-06 - By the initiative of Ms D, we agree to a new lease beginning on 2017-07-01. The lease is between Mr F and Ms D. Mr P has moved out. Locks are changed.

2017-07-03 - Receive email from Mr F informing me that Ms D has allowed Mr P to move back in AND that she has decided that she will not allow Mr F to live in the house any longer. Mr F has asked that I release him from the lease if I decide to sign a new lease with Ms D and Mr P, though he advises me against doing so due to their unstable history.

Ms D has not contacted me about any of these changes that Mr F has just reported to me. I will write to her asking to verify Mr F's claims, though I have no reason to doubt them. Assuming Mr P has indeed moved in, then this is a breech of the lease agreement. I no longer feel comfortable renting to this family (save for Mr F, but he would't be able to afford the rent on his own).

Please advise!

Yes, to reiterate, the tenant has made 3/3 rent payments on time.

The utility in question has not bee paid by the tenant sine the time he moved in about 3.5 months ago (I think it may have been two bills by now). I paid the balance on that account in full today.

Thanks also to those of you who have pointed out how to properly handle the city-provided utilities in the future. 

Thank you very much to everyone who replied. I appreciate all of the input.

This is in Idaho.

My tenant moved in a few months ago and has been paying rent on time. Our rental agreement specifies that he is responsible for trash/sewer utility bills. When I noticed I was still receiving bills for the trash and sewer service in my name (the service is provided by the city), I kindly reminded him to change the service into his name and take care of the bill. He said he "thought that he took care of it" and that he would fix it as soon as he had a moment.

A few weeks later, when I received another bill, I emailed him again to remind him to change the service into his name.

Fast-forward about a month and I have received a notice from the city that the account has a delinquent balance that has been referred to a collection agency. I talked to my tenant about this and he says that he lost his job a while back and is working on catching up.

I know, I should have verified that service was in tenant's name before signing off on the lease, and I will be more careful about that next time. But what should I do now? Pay the delinquent balance as well as the current bill (both of which are in my name) and ask him to repay me once he has the funds? The city needs to hear it form the tenant before it switches service into the tenant's name.

Thanks in advance!