I suppose there is a clause about the conditions of the apartment when they leave.
I also suppose there was a deposit from the tenants you'd be keeping in case of repairs.
But of course I'm talking about other country's laws.
This post is only to show my solidarity, jp.
When my mom got sick I took over her apartment business, and it was absolute hell.
Out of 3 tenants, only one was a worthy person.
The other 2:
One was a Korean pimp, who had one dozen (yes, 12) Brazilian girls on a 2 bedroom apartment. The enormous size of a phone bill they didn't pay (which led to a chain of suspension of all phones on my mother's name) helped me negociate (in a "saloon" of the Korean, surrounded by his thugs) his way out in favorable terms.
The other was a nightmare. An Argentinian couple (he, "a footballer representative"; she, a "model"). They simply did not pay since my mother got ill, and they had no contract (or my mother lost it). I had to denounce them to the INM (the Mexican INS) and have our Migra hassle them (she was barely legal, his status hung on a string). She left the building; he remained until his last legal day.
Noddy24 wrote:jp--
I have no direct experience as a landlord, but I do have a certain amount of second hand experience. Talking to tenants can go a long way.
You say that you'd like to be compensated for the increase in utilities.
She says "That's not in the lease."
You agree, but point out that the names of the three latest arrivals aren't on the lease either and just by their nature teenagers are noisy creatures...
Ask how her apartment hunting is coming....
You aren't being threatening--you're just asserting yourself.
As usual... very good advice, Noddy.
If your water bill is going up, so is your sewage.
More Facts of Life to mention in passing.
Maybe Big Mama will encourage her daughter to move out on their own?
Has she been keeping up with the rent this summer? If she's unemployed and the new arrivals aren't working how are they getting by?
Quote:Our lease states that the apartment is to be occupied "only by those listed on the lease." Do I still have a right to enforce that since they are family? Does it matter if two of them are 18? What if she is not the legal guardian?
Also, it would seem to me you are well within you rights to ask the newcomers to leave. If they claim they aren't living there and are only visiting, ask for a date when they will be leaving and then let her know that you expect them gone by that date. If the date is in October then ask them to leave now. If they admit to living there, ask them to leave now or by next weekend if you're feeling compassionate. They can find a motel with weekly rates until they all find a place to live. If they haven't moved out by the agreed date call the county sheriff. Have a copy of your lease and documentation of all your conversations with her. He'll help sort it out.
Good luck, it's stories like this that keep me out of the landlord business.
So after thinking it over we gave her a notice stating that the extra people living in the apartment breaks the rules of the lease and either the extra people need to leave, they all need to leave, or an eviction notice will be served. She said some of them were leaving but one of the 18 year olds is pregnant and would be staying. We gave her until Spetember 1st.
To complicate matters even more, we talked to a few other landlord people and they all advised us to get them out. They said that after 15 days living there they are considered residents and that since they are not on the lease it voids our homeowners insurance. If the place burns up because they fell asleep with a cigarette in bed we would get nothing.
i don't think u should second-guess your decision -- they left u with no other choice...
oh... I'm not second guessing... just wishing I didn't give them such a generous timeframe. I learned of the house insurance thing after I sent the notice so I can't go back and change it now. I I knew then what I know now I would have only given them a week or two.
I think it might be money well spent to speak with a real estate attorney for a short time..
Maybe you could clarify that the extra people don't have the same time frame as the original tenants.
Here is the language in the leases I have on some rental properties I own (A Virginia Association of Realtors Residential Lease):
"No persons, other than those named as occupants and Tenant(s)...may occupy the Premises on a regular basis. For the purpose of the Lease Agreement, occupancy by an unauthorized person for more than seven calendar days consecutively, or fourteen calendar days in any calendar year...will constitute a violation..."
If your lease is similar, you have the right to get them out, but actually getting them to leave is another issue.
September 1st isn't that far away.
Did they give you a security deposit? Will they be getting this money back? Can you use this money as leverage?
If they did leave a security deposit and you threaten not to give this back to them be careful they don't extend their stay and use the deposit money in lieu of rent. Also I think a deposit can only be used strictly for any damage of the property and if no damage has occurred when they leave the premises you must return this money to them. Using it for other reasons might give them leverage to sue you.
I was thinking more of: "We'll pay for the paint job and the floor waxing out of pocket. If you're out by 9/1/05 you can have the full security deposit back."
We do have a security deposit. They can get it back if they finish the lease but not if they break it. Good point about them using it in lieu of rent, heeven.
