Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have tenants out of hell. They have been giving me so much trouble since they moved in. I so want them gone but I don't want to get myself in any legal trouble. I recently reported flood damage and am trying to get a loan together to replace the floors in two rooms of the rental. They have been on my case since to move faster. They still have carpeting in the house so no problems there. I had a new roof installed and checked the completed work before making payments. With that said, I entered the back yard to see all around the roof and noticed that there was no grass. All I see is just mud. When going behind the house I also noticed a pool up and running in my back yard. Now I am thinking that perhaps they let out the water to fill in fresh water and this caused the flood in my house. Can't poof this of course, but I never gave any permission to put up a pool. They made so many changes to the yard I don't even recognize it anymore. Do I have legal right to evict? What should I put in the letter of eviction? Please any suggestions would be very helpful.

Give them a 3 day notice to perform or quit. The pool is a liability. You insure the property against certain damages, but if you do not have coverage for a pool and someone gets hurt or drowns it would fall on you. Not to mention the water usage and, as you mentioned, the damage to the grass/yard/sprinklers. This is an insurance issue and you should explain to them that you do not have coverage and they must remove the pool. If your insurance company saw it they would either send you a notice to remove, require you to add additional coverage or a non-renewal notice. You have to then follow up weekly with a physical inspection to be sure they do not put it back up. I have two tenants doing the same thing and have had to have them take them down with 3 day notices. It works pretty good; because what would their defense be in court?

Posted by Cheryl M, KS on Saturday, August 6, 2011