Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Good Evening to anyone who can help me out. We currently have a 12-month lease with 2 individuals who are not married, they are living together and they both signed the lease. They are having 'issues' and 1 of them (who is paying all the bills to include the full rent via direct deposit) wants to kick the other one out. I have no idea how to help out, since they're both on the lease and the rent is being paid on-time. Any help you could provide would be great. The house is in Virginia, single-family, and we only own rental property - this is their 2nd year and the current lease goes through 1 Feb 2012. Thank you.

Unless the one tenant has broken the lease agreement or the law, there's nothing you as a landlord can do. The other tenant can file for restraining orders, etc, but as a landlord, all you can do is file for eviction if they break the lease agreement.

Posted by Renee R, MD on Thursday, March 10, 2011

Tell the other tenants to see if they can collect any evidence of criminal activity, in which case you can probably have the one tenant evicted.

Posted by Gregory T, CA on Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Look at the Tenant Landlord Law for Virginia - usually can be found online. There are several references to conditions that would support a Landlord acting within the law to evict a tenant in a domestic situation. For example, if there is any kind of domestic violence, illegal activity, etc. Get things in writing from the one tenant who is making the complaint against the other tenant. Create a paper trail to show your own due diligence as a landlord.

Posted by Christof and Marie M, CA on Friday, March 18, 2011

The the tenant that is paying the bills could stop paying them and you can issue an evictation notice and the tenant could apply for rent again by himself.

Posted by James & Gina X, TN on Sunday, March 20, 2011

Good idea Gina X That's what I would have done.

Posted by Steven R, NY on Wednesday, July 20, 2011