Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I rented an apartment in my house in October. I gave the tenants a 1 year lease, which they signed. The lease included a section for them to sign off on the condition of the place, which they did. The first month they asked if they could paint the apartment. I had stated in my ad that we would allow that, so I took some money off of the rent so they could buy the paint. They gave me receipts. The second month they were late with the rent because of issues with their car. She tried to scale back the amount they would give me by saying they had to fix some things and that cost them money. Then the roof leaked. It has been fixed, but now they say there could be mold in the wall and when could I fix that. I saw the wall and it's not wet or didn't seem different than when they moved in. The people who do my fix-its are on vacation so I told them it would be a few weeks before we'd get to that. They keep talking about health issues. I wonder what will happen next month that will prevent them from paying full rent. Is there any way I can legally break the lease? Somebody, please help!

Hello. I had an upper tenant throw hot coals into the trash bin outside the lower tenants kids bedroom window which ended up scorching the aluminum siding off the side of the 2-flat. After insurance fixed, the lower complained that her kids asthma was affected and she wanted me to put them in a pet-friendly hotel until it was aired out to her satisfaction (Noone else could smell anything). I told her "Insurance cleared the building but if you believe that there are still issues that affect your kids health, I'll let you out of the lease and you can vacate by the end of the month to someplace else." The issue was dropped. In your case Jean, because of their poor rental payment history I would tell them this "If you believe the apt has become a health issue, I will allow you to break lease and leave by the end of the month. Should you decide to stay, I will have a mold inspection done and see what they find." P.S. DON'T EVER BUY THE PAINT!!! Otherwise you'll end up with the ugliest rooms you've ever seen. Do this - get 3 5 gallon buckets of the cheapest tan from the local hardware store and paint the entire unit in that color then put the rest in storage on the premises. Then tell tenants "You're free to repaint at your own expense, but the apt needs to be returned to it's original color before vacating and any damage to rugs or cabinets etc is your responsibility. The tan paint is located <here>. If not, I charge for the re-painting."

Posted by Matthew M, IL on Saturday, December 1, 2018

Thank you Matthew! The information you provided is very helpful. I know I need to toughen up, get a thick skin and protect my rights. Thank you again!

Posted by Jean B, MA on Saturday, December 1, 2018