New Landlord
I've only been a landlord for six months. My new wife and I bought a duplex with tenants in one side. We moved into the other. The tenants seemed good. They asked for a cat or dog (the lease they have specifically said no pets) and we said no. When their lease expired last week, they said they would like to stay month to month. We said ok. We didn't ask them to sign another contract.
They now have a cat, and haven't said anything to us about it, although I have seen it sitting in the window. I would rather lose the tenant, then keep them there with the cat. How long must i give them to vacate the cat? If they refuse, then what would be my next step?
Thanks, Stephen
Check with you attorney to make sure everything you do is in line with your local laws.
Double check what the old lease said. According to that document, what happens when the lease expires? In most cases, leases say that they become month to month rentals. But yours may say something else.
If they are in fact living in a month to month rental, and assuming this is in line with your local laws, send them a letter telling them that they have three days to get rid of the cat. If they don't or if you prefer not to have them as tenants anymore regardless of the cat, just give them 30 days notice to move. As today is the 7th, it might mean that they get to stay till the end of July. But that again depends on your local laws.
If they are not in a month to month, then give them 3-days to get rid of the cat or start eviction proceedings. If you want them to move out, you can force them to get rid of the cat and then try to charge them for the carpet cleaning and de-fleaing the apartment. You might even get away with arguing that you'll need to de-flea the entire duplex. The added expense might entice them to move out.
But before you do any of this, you know what you need to do, right?
Good luck.
Actually, no. I don't know what i need to do first.
Thanks for the input. I guess I will talk with them about it first. If they are unwilling to get rid of the cat, I will have to tell them I will get back to them regarding the next step, because I don't want to get in trouble.
I really don't know much about landlord stuff, I am just getting into it. Any direction would be welcome. Thanks.
Check the local laws.
In Oregon, at the end of the lease or contract term the tenant will automatically convert to a month to month tenancy unless notice is given.
The nice thing about month to month is you never have to provide cause. You just provide 30 days notice. If you provide cause and it works out that the cause is not valid or there are other complications you might be prevented from giving notice again for a period (to prevent the landlord harassing the tenant when they did nothing wrong).
Take some pictures of the cat in the window before talking to them. Then there will not be a dispute about if there was a cat.
Have firm but fair rules. When people break them take immediate action. No flexibility. Just enforce the rules. Works best if you publish the rules when they move in so there is a clear starting point.
BTW - Pets can be OK with an increase in the rent and a large pet deposit plus special cleaning arrangements when they move out. Cats can be worse then dogs. Cat urine is next to impossible to get out of wood floors (replace the floors is one solution). I have heard that some folks can deal with cat urine but I forget the magic stuff they use.
John
Hmmmm, something tells me i am gonna really like this forum.....
Thanks for the input. They are on month to month, and I just spoke with her. Gave her three days to lose the cat (which answered the door with her). She said she absolutely would get rid of it by then, and that she wasn't aware that cats were not allowed. Just that no dogs were in the lease. (it says no pets-I checked)
BTW-Where do I find these laws regarding tenants? Are they local, state or federal or all three? Are there resources that provide these? are they online? I'd like to be prepared before a major issue comes up...fortunately, this wasn't one...yet.
Landlord/Tenant laws are usually made at the state and local level. There are some Federal laws, but they mostly relate to protecting people against discrimination.
I guess I wasn't too clear in my previous post. But John knew what I meant; check your local laws and the old lease.
But you might want to also reconsider about pets. One of the nice things about pet owners is that they tend to pay a premuim rent and stick around longer than people who don't have pets. This is at least in part due to the fact that so many landlords don't allow pets. But if you set firm rules and get a good pet deposit in addition to the security deposit, you should be okay. Most of my units don't have any pets. But I do have 2 cats in one unit, a Lab in another, and a third unit that has 2 turntles and big old lizard. It's pretty cool, but along with the turtles, it's just kep in a tank. I'm now thinking about 2 young ladies who want to move in to one of my units. The only problem is that they have 4 cats. Even though they're fixed and de-clawed, I'm thinking that 4 might be a bit much.
Anyway, good luck. You're already asking the right questions rather than just jumping into a fight with your tenant and then coming here to find out how to clean up the mess. That means you're already on the right track.
ok, now i am pretty ticked off. Our tenant went off on my wife and said she is keeping the cats (there are 2) and that since she pays rent she should be able to keep the cat. (All this after she said she'd lose 'em and us thinking everything was ok.)
I tried being fair and then just now had her angrily turn on my wife. Now, i just want her out, before her cat ruins immaculate 100+ year old wood floors.
Her lease expired may 31, and we had a verbal agreement on a month to month continuation of the lease that specified no pets. What would be the proper legal way of removing her and how long does it take?
Is it better to insist on a new 1 year lease with a huge increase that she likely can't cover, or just get some kind of letter drawn up telling her that she broke the lease and needs to vacate within a certain number of days. I live in Connecticut if that matters for state laws. Thanks for helpin' a newbie out. Stephen
looks like your headed toward legal action. i might help to get an realestate attnys. veiws since your not clear on regs. maybe get the attny. to send "a letter of intent" words have been fired it can get tricky the last one i sent cost 25 bucks. it worked for me........kenmax[ Edited by kenmax on Date 06/25/2004 ]
This is the aspects of landlording I hate.
Depending on how fair or not the tenant wants to be, there are a variety of stall tactic tentants can take, so talk to an atty, and start doing things in writting.
1. Never agree things verbally. Have a lease that confirms that until it is in writing nothing verbal matters.
2. You provided notice. Follow up on the notice if it has not become void. It shows you mean what you say in writing.
3. Check the present lease. When I was managing directly the agreements that were valid in my location indicated that you automatically go to month-to-month at the end of the lease and all terms and conditions continue to apply. It was a local law and not specific to my agreements.
4. Find the local landlord or apartment owners association. They will have preprinted forms that are current with the state and pro-landlord. They normally have manuals for how to do all the things you might run into. Manuals that are tailored to your state.
5. If you want to agree to let them keep pets then you need a pet addendum and a pet deposit. From what I hear (not personal experience) a good ozone machine can kill any orders. Physical damage is another story.
The biggest mistake to make with any tenant is to not be clear. Have rules, printed up on paper, presented before they move in, spelled out in the lease, verify all ID's and pull credit records and then stick to what the rules say. When filing notices do it exactly as you are suppose to do. Be fair. Be very strict in follow through. If you file a notice keep moving the notice along with no flexibility other then the options the notice allows for. It helps the tenants to know where you stand and that the options they have are limited but clearly spelled out.
If you want to be flexible here is a way to define how much. Any time they want a favor have then agree to convince your lender to be equally flexible. If they can not convince the lender to delay payment of the mortgage then you should not feel bad about insisting that they pay the rent on time.
John
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