Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have a tenant that I allowed him 1 pet and now im told he has 2 also he has moved in other people without my permission . Can I tell him he is only allowed 1 pet and can I refuse to allow his room mates to live there ?

What does your lease say, specifically? Does it have a pet clause? Does it have an additional tenant clause? I would have an open discussion with him and go over the rules again and tell him 1) that there are additional fees for these things or 2) to get rid of the pet and people. Sometimes this takes some psych/analyzation. How does this guy take your discussion? Will he be trouble? Will he pay the extra fees? Does he say he is sorry or yell? Ask him why he kept this from you when he knows the rules. Depends how flexible you decide to be and if you think it will get worse. A lying tenant is a rough way to start a landlord/tenant relationship. Good luck!

Posted by Land L, CA on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

I did talk to him and he has lied to me every turn also I did a 1 year lease ...My bad ..now im stuck with him , my lawyer says that an extra dog is not grounds for an eviction

Posted by Ken H, CA on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

sorry to hear that. What did your lawyer say about the extra tenants?? Surely, that is breaking the lease an grounds for dismissal? At the very least, maybe you can get the additional tenants to sign the lease and up the rental amount? If he objects then take out the fee from security at the end (if security is not needed for anything else) IF you had a clause in your lease. Best case scenario is he pays rent on time and you hope him and the additional amount of tenants does not destroy the place?!? You might want to check your state rules on max capacity rules. Maybe you can evict him on grounds of safety? (example: too many people is a fire hazard?) If he is paying rent then you might want to wait it out, if he is not causing much trouble. Yet, you should never feel "stuck" though. Just remember, eviction is expensive and time consuming. It depends on your tolerance.

Posted by Land L, CA on Wednesday, September 8, 2010

My lawyer says that the guy can just say these are guests and I dont sublet to them they stay here free.so there is nothing I can do at this point , even the extra dog the lawyer says a judge may or may not say thats a good enough reason to make him move out

Posted by Ken H, CA on Wednesday, September 8, 2010