Tenant has someone living who is not on lease (Calif)?

Question

I hate this...
Ok so I have someone living in a house I own. They have a year lease which is up Feb 1st.
She has had a roomate living there and this is all known about and I have not minded as rent has been paid on time etc. Problems started this month. Rent did not come and when I called she said she mailed it. It did not come so I went to the house and some guy was there. He said he paid his share (cash) to her and did not understand why I did not get anything in the mail. Then the tenant (on lease) paid me all cash after a couple days so it was all caught up, no problem.
I do have a problem with this guy as he has moved into one of the rooms and now that I am trying to sell the house he has refused entry for showings and today had the room locked (for another showing) I have been giving notices to her (lesee) before showing. How do I get him out? 3 day notice to fix (to her, based on viloating the lease) 30 day notice? I don't mind the one girl she has but this guy is a problem

Answer 1

You need to evict both of them. If you don't know the guys name you need to have the sheriff help you serve the initial papers.

You can file an unlawful detainer against just teh man if you want, but as you are selling I would boot them both. She has violated your lease (unless you said she could sub-lease) and will make the sell hard.

Answer 2

Well, you're in a bit of legal limbo there my friend. By allowing the other roommate who was not on the lease you may have a "constructive waiver" on your hands. You allowed an unauthorized occupant for a protracted period of time and therefore you waived the right to object. Now, some attorneys might argue that that applies on a per-person basis and they might be correct -- I'm not one, just a lowly landlord like yourself.

BUT, it's not likely that you'll get a 3-day notice to stick for an unauthorized occupant; for non-payment of rents yes, but for other less eggregious violations of the lease terms you'll probably need to go with a 30-day notice.

Since the lease is up in just a few days, I have to ask if you've given the tenants notice to quit at the end of the term? If not, you should probably do so now. It won't be effective until March 1st at the earliest but is a guaranteed way out for you.

From personal experience, it's extremely difficult to sell an occupied property unless the buyer is an investor. Sure, the lease states that you have the right to show the property to prospective tenants or buyers with reasonable notice, but you can't force the tenant to prepare the property for a proper showing. Uncooperative tenants (and I confess to having been one on a couple of occasions myself) will go to extreme lengths on occasion to ensure that the property appears to be extremely undesireable. (A few pairs of "tighty whities", some chocolate syrup and peanut butter will send the most castiron stomache screaming into the night.)

Get these folks out and prep your place for a proper showing. You'll sell it MUCH faster that way and won't have to worry about uncooperative tenants.

Answer 3

Did you specify in your lease the number of occupants allowed? If so, you should be able to give notice to leave. If not, highly consider doing so for your next tenants.