I have a tenant who is allowing her daughter's boyfriend to live at the house. He is not listed on the lease, nor will he be able to get on the lease since my house only has two bedrooms. I will be fined if it does not stop, but when I talk to them about it, they tell me that he is not living there. What should I do?
2007-09-27 08:49:57 · 10 answers · asked by NICOLE S 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
You don't specify who is going to fine you. I imagine that it is probably an owners' association that restricts how many people may live in your unit.
My advice is to notify your tenants in writing that they will be responsible for paying any fines levied against you and that it will be their responsibility to contest such fines with the association if they wish to do so. If a fine is levied, pay it yourself and send a cover letter indicating that you are not admitting liability and that you are reserving the right to contest such fine. Make sure you require your tenants to reimburse you right away, letting them know that you will refund the money only if they are able to successfully contest the fine with the association.
In the future, be sure to indicate in your lease that tenants are responsible for obeying all association rules and that they are responsible for reimbursing you for any fines. Further, you should include a clause in your lease indicating that failure to obey the association rules can be grounds for eviction.
Best of luck!
P.S. The person below says that you can't evict in CA for failing to pay a fine. They are correct that you have to look at your state's law. But, in NJ, NY, PA and I would suspect in most other states, you can evict someone for not paying a fine, a utility bill or for failure to obey an association rule or local law. There are some procedural requirements for eviction based on failing to obey a rule ... such as a "notice to cease" in NJ, which tells the tenant that they must obey the rule. You should check your state's laws to be certain what the requirements are.
2007-09-27 09:12:09 · answer #1 · answered by mr_law_jersey 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have a written lease it should list the number and names of all tenants. It should have a visitors clause which states how long a visitor can stay.
If you do not have that info in your lease there really is not much that you can do UNLESS you can get written verification of any town ordinance which states the number of people who can reside in this size of housing unit.
If you have the lease or the ordinance on your side and the tenants still tell you this person does not live there you need to be able to prove that the person does live there. This may be difficult but I would begin by sending a certified letter in this person's name to the residence, if he/she claims the mail that is proof of residency.
Your only option if they refuse to have this person move out in a timely manner is to file an eviction under breach of contract or ordinance violation.
2007-09-27 09:08:10 · answer #2 · answered by ebosgramma 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Consult your lease and if the tenant is in violation of the lease then ask them to leave or evict them if necessary. Since laws vary from State to State it would be a good idea to speak with a real estate attorney.
2007-09-27 08:59:49 · answer #3 · answered by Othniel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Who will you be fined by?
Whoever is going to fine you will be the one to determine what constitutes him living there.
They obviously have to define a breach of their rules before they can fine you, so what are those rules? He's there more than 3 times a week for more than 5 hours? He stays the night?
If he's not on the lease, how much time is he allowed on the property before breaching any agreements. These are the things that need to be clearly defined.
They need to define these within the CCR's or whatever authority for which you fear being fined has to have a clear definition.
Once you know what that is...you need to go to your tenants and say
"these are the rules to the property. He can only be here from __to __ ____times a week, otherwise he will be trespassing. Should you break these rules he will be fined for trespassing and you will receive a notice to vacate and or eviction. I would appreciate you taking this issue seriously and hope for your cooperation which is absolutely necessary if you wish to maintain your occupancy here."
Threatening them with having to pay the fines wont work. So what if there are fines....if they dont pay it gets attached to your property. They are renters, they dont have anything to go after and you can't evict for not paying fines just as you cant evict for not paying deposits............only rent. (atleast in California anyway, not sure of your eviction laws in your state)
They wont care about fines anymore than they care about late charges on credit cards.......its your property. What they care about is not having to come up with another deposit and having to load up the truck. YOu can evict for not following the rules you can't for not paying fines. Make sure you list him and "does 1-10" on the eviction papers.
Always be matter of fact, business like and leave emotions and accusations out. These are the rules, these are the facts, this is what will happen should this not be changed.
Good Luck
Open Book Advisors™
2007-09-27 09:14:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The standard lease that I use states that if he is there 10 consecutive days or any 14 days out of a 60 day period then he is considered "living" there. You can tell the resident if he is seen staying there then you will evict them because they are in breach of the lease and it sounds like they are also in violation of fair housing laws.
2007-09-27 09:09:53 · answer #5 · answered by brandyrhi 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My suggestion would be to contact your lawyer, the one who drew up your lease contracts might work.
However, send them a certified letter stating that "While occasion overnight guests are permitted, state law prohibits cohabitation of people not on a lease. Co-habitation is defined (check your state) by a person sleeping on premise for 4 or more nights per week for 4 or more weeks. It is also prohibited by state law (check your state) for more than 2 people per bedroom to be added to a lease. Any fines assessed to the owners of this property will be required to be paid by the tenants in the offending unit."
You might want to send a copy of the letter to all tenants, but make sure you've got prof that they sent received the letter.
2007-09-27 09:04:36 · answer #6 · answered by saberhilt 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Tell them that "not living there" means he's not there all the time and apparently he is and also spending the night. Explain to them you have to have his name on the lease for insurance purposes and if they refuse you will have to evict them. It is your home.
2007-09-27 08:59:43 · answer #7 · answered by ga.peach67 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Websites like FindLaw, LawGuru are some of the free legal advice resources available. More information at http://www.uelp.org/freelegal.html
2007-10-01 03:21:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it will create a legal problem for you, that is probably grounds for eviction.
So, the question is, how solid is your proof that he's living there?
2007-09-27 09:02:50 · answer #9 · answered by open4one 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
document and record if possible coming and going and the length of time he is there, if you feel they are violating your agreement serve them with a 3 day notice and proceed to evict
2007-09-27 08:57:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋