Landlord Question and Answer Forum

We have a tenant who clearly has his girlfriend living with him Upon inspection of the apartment, we could clearly see that half the closet is female clothes, female belongings throughout the apartment, and an additional car there every night for the past month, etc. We also discovered a cat and litter box. We sent him notices informing him of the 2 lease violations. When he responded via email, he denied both. The tenant states that he is keeping the cat for a friend on a temporary basis, and the girlfriend does not live there, has only spent the night occasionally. I have no doubt that he is lying. So we are unsure how to proceed at this point. His lease does not expire until August, and I do not want to start down the road of eviction for a variety of reasons. A major one being that in the past when we've had to evict, it's been a 3+ month process. It would hardly be worth the cost, time, and effort. Any suggestions on how to proceed, or to force his hand?

If you are not willing to go through with the eviction process then any other action may just be more of a hassle and cause your relationship with your tenant to become unfriendly. As for the pet let them know that if the pay stays longer than the end of the week you will require a pet deposit or take them to court for unathorized pets.

Posted by Patty H, on Sunday, January 24, 2016