The tenant renting my house has bad intentions, what can I do?

Question

I have rented my FL townhouse for 3 years and I never had a problem, the previous tenant moved to TX for a job promotion. The new tenant has been in the house for one month, she brought fleas to the property and does not want to accept it, not only that but she is threating with going to court. I already paied for a pest control when the contract says she should pay for it, she did not follow pest control reccomendations and had not taken her boxes out nor clean the house. I have sent her an agreement to leave without penalties. She has not signed it yet. Witnesses say she wants to take advantage of me, and that she wants money no matter what. What can I do??

My husband and I left the house in excellent condition, we even painted it with the colors she wanted. The realtor says she is unpleasantly surprised for such an ungrateful and lier tenant she got for me. I'm concerned about her bad faith, she came into the house 3 days before the contract started and did not care, she also complained she does not use the patio, so she does not know why she has to maintain it (?) unbeliavable..! Need any advise you can provide please!!!

The previous tenant confirmed he never had fleas nor any other bug, I asked several people who knew him and all confirmed he never had pets and that the five family members never had any problems. The new tenant has been complaining the full month for very simple things and the house is in like new condition!. The bigest complain is the fleas and this is the one she wants to use to bring me to court, but she did not follow the pest control reccomendations and I told her by doing that there is no way we can resolve her problem for good. I told her I want a happy tenant and I want to be a happy landlord, I offered the opportunity to leave without penalties. I paid for the days she claimed she could not occupy the house because of the fleas, I clarify this was a good faith act, because no fleas existed before, but she keeps abusing and complaining for very stuped things, this one month has been a nightmare. I sincerely thank you for all your kind suggestions and wise advice!

The tenant has a lot of boxes in the house, she is also using the garage as a storage room, all boxes are old and in bad condition, she has not removed them despicte the pest control's reccomendations. The pest control specialist says the fleas could come from her boxes and the moving truck, he did not find any source of fleas within the property nor common areas.

Answer 1

Wow, what a mess! Your idea to cancel the lease without penalties is excellent.

Someone like this is used to getting her way by making a big fuss and intimidation. She'll be the one complaining in a loud voice at the store in order to embarrass the manager into giving her compensation for some perceived wrongdoing by the store.

You need to counterattack fast and hard. Get on the offensive. Don't threaten to do something, just do it! Get a bulldog attorney (ask real estate agents for referrals) and turn him or her loose. It may cost you but that's the cost of doing business.

Also, get your agent involved. Assuming you relied on them to screen the tenant and paid a commission, you should be getting their help to get this nightmare tenant out immediately. The agent will have legal resources to which they might give you access (however, don't be surprised if the broker says no to talking to their lawyer-- it's has to do with conflict of interest, not cost).

Talk to tenant/landlord service in your area. Many cities offer it for free.

Don't lock them out-- that is called "constructive eviction" and (in California) it's illegal and grounds for a complaint/lawsuit against you.

Good luck!

Answer 2

2

Answer 3

I'm sorry to hear the predicament you are in. I too am a landlord and have dealt with tenants of this nature in the past. The majority of tenants are good people who just need a decent place to live that they can afford and will be grateful that you are able to offer this to them. Of course, there is always one bad apple who thinks they should ride for free. You seem to have that apple at the moment. Here is exactly what I have had to do in the past. Let them know you have another tenant who is willing to pay more for the rental and OFFER THEM MONEY TO LEAVE (within a given time, say 48 hours). I know it stinks, but believe me it is the best and cheapest way to go with the least amount of headaches. Besides, it's their money right? You have their security deposit. How much depends on how bad you want them out (i would go all the way to their full security deposit but start at maybe a couple hundred bucks)You state the home is in excellent shape therefore you should have no problems renting to a good tenant (tip, do not check references with the former landlord, check with the 2nd previous landlord, this helps weed out people who give you friend and family numbers claiming to be their landlord). Hope this helps.

Answer 4

my peers have offered excellent answers.

I offer some additional options;

maintenance. Take a close look
at your lease. See if the tenant
is violating any components.
if so, give a 30 written notice of
violation. YOU hired a pest control company and they gave specific
instructions to her. YOU have every
right to be NON judgmental but
instead, analytical and offer her
a choice; 30 days to remediate [follow the instructions] or exit the unit.

KEEP the emotions out of the equation.

And......visit the unit 2x a week
after giving a 72 hour notice in
advance. Check for bugs and other
problems.

YOU do not need to be emotional
about problem tenants.

I assure you if you are visiting a tenant
every 3 days [with legal notice in advance every time], soon, the tenant
will SHARPEN up or provide cause
for eviction.

Excellent question.

Answer 5

You do have recourse and that is you can take the real estate agent to court because she is the one who brought the tenant to you. If she is the one who did the credit check and so forth, then she has the responsibility to take it upon herself to remove this tenant. You as a landlord who has paid for the pest control can charge your agent for repayment as well. You have offered your tenant an agreement to leave without penalties and may end up having to take the tenant and the agent to court. You can also let the tenant know she is trepassing as well and can have the police remove her.

Answer 6

You need to find out the law in your state and then follow it. FYI, the police don't come and toss people out of their homes into the street. OCD and psychosis are two very different things, and having to go to a "mental hospital" for a non-violent disorder really isn't a cause for eviction. Neither is being "unreasonable" or trying to start "petty fights". You would be much better off just screening your tenants a bit more carefully.

Answer 7

How in a world you can proof that she brought fleas, it could come with a wind or jump from some ware, you definitely can't accuse her for this. She can take to court, because she just move, it cost here money and a lot of work, she pd the rent and after 1 month you put her thru hell, she have to spend time for looking for another place, pack and get stress. I think she has a case. Good Luck to you!

Answer 8

This is the chance you take when you are a landlord. There's not much that you can do. It will be a learning experiance for you. I assume that next time you will probably a little pickier about your tenants.

You might try telling her that in order to get rid of the fleas, she needs to move everything to the curb, then change the locks. She can sue you, but what the heck...

Answer 9

Every contract can be broken if you look for something she is in default of and can prove it ,,document all she does and says for your records
If the previous tenants never had fleas than you can prove that with a signed statement from that tenant or other tenants you have
I evicted once on the grounds they had three dogs and I only allowed one dog ,,they broke the contract ,,,,,,,,easy eviction ,,,,,,,,,,good luck ,,

Answer 10

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