Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have reason to believe that my tenant's boyfriend is living in the property. The boyfriend did not sign the lease. I feel that having an unauthorized tenant in the property is a liability for me. Does anyone know what to do about this situation or how to approach it with the tenant? Please help.

Send a notice regarding an unauthorized tenant.

Posted by Donna , NC on Friday, July 9, 2010

Thank you for your response, Lisa. I have drafted a simple notice to send to my tenant.

Posted by Heather B, AZ on Friday, July 9, 2010

She could say its only a guest, you have to be careful and do not harass, a couple of things you can do to cure you itchy curisoity, 1. DO A INSPECTION , look for suspicious item such as mens clothes ,and added furnitureor anything suspicious 2 His car parked , how long 3. the clincher, His mail. You might have to be a investigator for a while. , if his coming there he is living there.

Posted by Donald G, MA on Saturday, July 10, 2010

Well, the thing that sparked my curiosity is that her voicemail on her house phone says both his and her name. To me, that is an indication that the guy is living there. The thing I was concerned about is if he does damage to the property. I checked my lease and I have a clause that says that the tenant can be held responsible for any damage done by her guests. So, I think I'm OK. By the way, I did do an inspection, but it wasn't a surprise to the tenant so she had plenty of time (about three weeks) to hide all the boyfriend's belongings.

Posted by Heather B, AZ on Saturday, July 10, 2010

Heather, what you have to be careful of is this, if he stays there he becomes a tenant and you have to also evivt him personally as another person living there so you would have to evict 2 people.

Posted by Donald G, MA on Saturday, July 10, 2010

Oh, I see. Thanks for the information. I think I should probably still send my tenant a notice saying that I suspect an unauthorized occupant and give her the opportunity to correct the situation. And if I still detect that he is living there after I have given her notice, then I will pursue further action. Thanks again, Donald!

Posted by Heather B, AZ on Saturday, July 10, 2010

Send them a letter but send it certified, what happends if the guy friend gets it and reads it and rips it up, I have been thru enough to know not to think like everything will turn out the way you thought, 2 Its always a good thing to give these tenants a chance to clean up there act

Posted by Donald G, MA on Sunday, July 11, 2010

INn the eyes of a judge you are the one who wants to look like a person who is the good guy always , and that is always be considerate and never let your temper get the best of you because they will use it against you in the forms of harassment. always give them a chance so they cannot say Iwas never told of this incident.

Posted by Donald G, MA on Sunday, July 11, 2010

I agree. Thanks again, Donald.

Posted by Heather B, AZ on Sunday, July 11, 2010

What's the big deal about the boyfriend living there? Are you trying to collect extra rent for the extra person? Are you looking for a reason to terminate the lease? If yes, then pursue it. If not, then there is really no reason that I see to bother. The person that signed the lease is responsible for the property and its condition. It's not necessary for everyone living there to be a signatory, but if he is not on the lease, it makes it difficult for you to go after him, assuming there is a major problem and you can't find the girlfriend.

Posted by Jason I, AZ on Tuesday, July 13, 2010

My biggest concern is that the boyfriend is not on the lease. And the tenant and I specifically talked about the boyfriend NOT living there when the tenant moved in. She emphasized the fact that he had his own place. Maybe that should have been a red flag that she was so adamant about him having his own place. The boyfriend has a shady history. He's been in prison for meth use. So, I'm very concerned about him doing damage to the property. He already punched a hole in a closet door. I guess I can chalk my concerns up to being a new landlord and being concerned about my investment...

Posted by Heather B, AZ on Tuesday, July 13, 2010

I have a question related to this thread; If the tenant is given notice of evicition for unauthorized tenant, and the people move out as asked, is there any recourse by the landloard to withhold any, or part, of the deposit for the breach of lease? Thank you.

Posted by Marcus M, CA on Monday, July 19, 2010

You are lucky it did not go to court and then you would have all kind of filing fees and missed work , count your blessings really

Posted by Donald G, MA on Monday, July 19, 2010

My learned lesson was having one of three tenants on a lease. The poor guy who had the lease was responsible but, unfortunately, you can tell how this story goes. One of the other tenants did over $5k damage. Albeit, by accident, he refused to pay and it put us in a very difficult predicament. We could either A) force the signed tenant to pay damages, but then we'd lose him; or B) make it so the unsigned tenants had to leave and eat the cost. We chose B and have chalked it up to a learning experience. In addition to every adult being on the lease, they are contracted by the lease to have renter's insurance. This is easy to do when using the EZLandord Rental Form.

Posted by Tammie H, PA on Friday, August 6, 2010

Thanks for the insight and advice, Tammie.

Posted by Heather B, AZ on Sunday, August 8, 2010

So I gave my tenant that his unauthorized tenants had to leave the premises. I gave him the letter July 22nd and he was under the impression that he had 30 days for them to leave. In addition they owe 100 from July and owes August rent. I am not sure what to do.

Posted by maria r, WI on Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I found a clause in Conn that they are called a nuisance and you have to geive them a 15 letter to cure the problem. Then you can threaten eviction, or he has to sign a lease. I WOULD NOT TRUST THEM. Try to get them out by offering to break the lease. My tenant had her drug addict daqughter move in, and say its only temporary. The lease wqas specific as to one occupant. A guest is defined in CT as 5 days or less. I am evicting her as we speak, but I also served the daughter as Jane Doe. No prblems, going along well

Posted by cornelis v, CT on Thursday, August 19, 2010

Any Landlord who had to rent his/her apartment several times knows how arduous and time consuming the rental process can be, and no Landlord wants to lose a ton of rent money from a vacant apartment either. That's why many Landlords put up with all kinds of Tenant lease violations for just as long as the offending Tenant pays the rent reasonablly on time. Tenants who let a relative or friend move in to their apartment often do so because of economic necessity or helping a son or daughter out of a bind, snd they'll do so if it's in the Tenant's best interests. and if the Landlord lets them get away with it. A well written lease has a clause prohibiting any guest from staying longer in the rental apartment than, say, 7 days without express permission of the Landlord. Sometimes, Landlords have to read the riot act to their Tenants, e.g., notifying the Tenant that he/she is violating a clause in the lease which won't be tolerated, and act decisively if the violation continues.

Posted by Steve F, NY on Sunday, August 22, 2010

Ever since 9/11 - the law states that ANYONE over the age of 18 MUST sign a lease and some township/localities require you to notify who is living in your rental with the social security number, etc for tax purposes, etc. So... if this person is age 18 or over - then you MUST have them sign a lease. This person either signs or goes - take it to the local magistrates office and it will be fast and easy to have them BOTH evicted for failure to comply with Homeland Security Law these days. Your lease should state something about ALL tenants MUST sign the lease, which does not mean that each person is only responsible to 50% - the law does not care who pays the rent such as in the case of the husband working and the wife at home with the kids - it merely is a formality for where everyone is living now a days - so everyone can be accounted for, IRS, Homeland Security, Police, etc - EVERYONE wants to know where everyone lives for OUR safety and for your liability reasons also.

Posted by Tamirose & John F, NV on Sunday, August 22, 2010