Disgusting Tenant Problem
Okay, bought the property last January. Went in, met all the tenants. One was this old guy living in a garbage-filled apartment. Stacks of newspapers, used cans of food, layers of dust, etc. I would have told him right then and there to get it all cleaned up, but he’s been living there for something like 20 years and I guess on first impression it sort of seemed harmless.
Now we’ve fixed everything in the building that could possibly need fixing or improving, and have come buy to look at a window he mentioned was stuck. After five minutes in the apartment we almost puked. Everything’s gotten even worse in his apartment.
He took everything out of his cupboards:
Q - “Why did you do that?”
A - “I’m fumigating in case other tenants have rats or roaches”
We went to close some of the windows:
Q – “Why do you have all these windows open?”
A – “That’s where I shake out my clothes every morning”
Q – “Why do you have all these old used cans from canned food?”
A – “It rains every Thursday on trash day and the box I want to take them out in will get wet.”
Then came the worst part of it. He asked us to look at his toilet because it wasn’t working. We checked, and the entire flushing mechanism was frozen from not having been used in what looks like years.
Q – “It looks like you haven’t used the toilet in years. How do you go to the bathroom?”
A – “I go in a newspaper.”
Okay, clearly he’s not working on all cylinders. But even though he pays his rent on time, I want him out yesterday. What a nightmare.
Views, suggestions, things to consider?
Call local social service agencies that deal with seniors, explain your situation and your interest. They see this situation all the time. Ask around for the right agency ans they will be able to either get him a housekeeper to clean up the unit or have him commited for psych evaluation.
Get a # for a relative first. Explain the situation. Experienced the same scenario myself. It only gets worse. If no relatives, then follow the social service agency route. Remember, government intervention involves you.
Be careful. Be sure to maintain your position as a landlord. You don't want to expose yourself to legal liabilities by over-stepping your bounds into his personal life. But as a landlord, you have every right to do what is in the best interest of your property and the other tenants.
I decided to not call his relatives. I figure if they cared about him, they would have helped long ago. The situation in his apartment didn't happen overnight.
I sent him a letter informing him of our concerns and requesting that he clean the place up within 30 days. But I honestly think that he's not going to do anything. So I talked this over with my attorney and we've decided to go the eviction route. He's been living there for a really long time, and didn't even have a lease when I bought the place. So I put him on a MTM lease. We've given him the 30 days to clean up. Then we'll give him 30 days to move out. After that, if he's still there we'll just go to court.
As much I want to be nice and help people, I can't afford to become a social worker. I have to be more concerned about the property and the other three tenants that I have living there. They'd all move out in an instant if they knew how bad things were in the apartment next door.