Landlord Question and Answer Forum

The lease we use does not specifically state that there is no smoking allowed in the house, but if the tenant states that they smoke, we personally discuss with them where they can and cannot smoke. We had one renter who declared on the application that no one occupying the premises smokes. We learned later that was not true and caught them smoking in the house. We gave them a written warning telling them that there was no smoking allowed in the house. They assured us that it would not happen again. It did and now that they have moved out it is very evident that there was regular smoking in the house. We are going to have to do major cleaning work to get the smell out. I have charged the renter $500 out of an $1,100 security deposit. Is this OK to do since the lease does not specifically state no smoking? I've never had an issue with the before and all our tenants have been cooperative with the no smoking in the house, even though it is not in the lease. After this, I plan to put it in the lease.

hmmm if it is not in the lease it may be more difficult to pull this off. I would say it sounded like you did have a verbal agreement to not smoke in the house and i would keep receipts for everything you had to replace. That is stuff i would charge off of the deposit.

Posted by J D, CA on Wednesday, July 5, 2017