Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have several houses that I rent. The nicest one, which i paid the most for, I am renting to my sister-in-law & her husband. Their lease states I'm renting to the two of them, and if additional persons occupy the rental, it's to be in writing/with my permission. (the lease is from ezLandLord Forms) The other day she casually mentioned that her niece w/ a small daughter, and her own daughter w/ 2 children & boyfriend are living there now as well! She then stated one set is "paying us $700.00 a month" and the other set is "paying us $75.00 a week" meaning they're paying HER, not me. I was dumbfounded, and said nothing. In effect, she's making $1,000.00 a month. Her rent to me is $925.00 I can't let them stay there without a rent increase, due to the fact that it's a 3 bedroom home, now with 5 adults & 3 children living in it. the wear and tear will be greatly increased. My question; What is the fair or standard amount to tell them they will have to pay, per extra person, and what sort of notice do I have to give them legally to increase the rent? I want to be fair, and I want to be sure I have extra $ to cover what i know will be coming, in terms of wear on appliances, carpet, etc. Thanks for any info!

I'm not sure what the law says but I have been a business owner and managed them all my life. The first thing you need to know and also let your sister-in-law know is that when it comes to business, Everyone is on equal grounds. In other words she gets nothing more than Joe Smith down the road would get. That said I would explain to her that subletting is not allowed and they are all going to have to leave or there will have to be new arrangements made in order for them to continue to live there.

Posted by David S, OH on Friday, October 28, 2011