Author Topic: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?  (Read 1773 times)

Archipelago

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Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« on: September 01, 2021, 09:20:06 PM »
Hello all,

I inherited a tenant a year ago and it's been a rocky relationship from the start. Tenant displays frequent paranoia about pretty much any aspect of how the property is managed. Tenant accused me of deliberately ignoring their texts/calls (which seems nonsensical, I do not stand to gain from this whatsoever). Tenant has an extensive criminal history. For a time I wondered if I was being unreasonable or did something that made me untrustworthy. However, I hired a PM not long ago and PM experienced similar issues. Otherwise, tenant pays rent on time.

Tenant is month to month. Ideally I'd like the tenant to leave but there's an eviction moratorium in place. I live in a tenant friendly state. If I give notice to cancel the month to month rental agreement, the tenant could retaliate, decide not to pay rent any longer, potentially damage the property, and get physically violent (though violence seems unlikely). I've thought about this at length but am wondering if given the circumstances I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place at this point.

Any insight?

SunnyDays

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2021, 09:56:35 PM »
How much are you allowed to raise the rent?  Maybe you can price him out.

Is he doing anything illegal in the suite (in light of his record) that could result in immediate eviction?

He may not be paranoid so much as belligerent/a bully.  If he says/does anything threatening, that may help you get rid of him.

You may just have to wait out the moratorium, but meanwhile, put all your communications in writing and try to keep a low profile.

Sandi_k

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2021, 12:21:26 AM »
Cash for keys and no damage.

PMJL34

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2021, 01:48:11 PM »
Not enough info OP to provide meaningful suggestions.

Is the current rent below, at, or above market?

This person is paying rent so has some kind of income. It it's market or above, if he gets a notice, he will move to another unit for comparable price.

If he's way below market, then it could be an issue if you ask him to leave and the whole squatting can become an issue.

Does he have an eviction on record? If not, he will not want one and will most likely move.

Cash for keys would certainly speed up the process, but it may be unnecessary at this time without more info.

Best of luck! 

 


Archipelago

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #4 on: September 02, 2021, 07:45:20 PM »
How much are you allowed to raise the rent?  Maybe you can price him out.

Is he doing anything illegal in the suite (in light of his record) that could result in immediate eviction?

He may not be paranoid so much as belligerent/a bully.  If he says/does anything threatening, that may help you get rid of him.

You may just have to wait out the moratorium, but meanwhile, put all your communications in writing and try to keep a low profile.

Not sure how much I'm allowed to raise the rent in the area. I have to look that up.

Not that I know of. There is a fair bit of violence on his record, but he has not said or done anything threatening.


Archipelago

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2021, 07:49:45 PM »
Not enough info OP to provide meaningful suggestions.

Is the current rent below, at, or above market?

This person is paying rent so has some kind of income. It it's market or above, if he gets a notice, he will move to another unit for comparable price.

If he's way below market, then it could be an issue if you ask him to leave and the whole squatting can become an issue.

Does he have an eviction on record? If not, he will not want one and will most likely move.

Cash for keys would certainly speed up the process, but it may be unnecessary at this time without more info.

Best of luck!

Below market by approximately $300/month, around 30% lower than market.

No evictions on record.

Cash for keys is always an idea but I'm not sure that's necessary at this point.

franklin4

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2021, 08:00:49 PM »
I think let him stay and let the PM deal with it, that's how they earn their money. At least until you can evict for non-payment of rent. Really, unless you're getting a heck of a deal with your PM this shouldn't be your problem. Consider raising rent 100 with plenty of notice, like 2 or 3 months, with an explanation that it's still far below market rent. The PM's job is to get market rent and deal with the headaches. You're not getting market rent and sounds like you are stressing.

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2021, 01:51:49 AM »
It sounds as though this person is difficult to deal with on a personal level but pays his rent on time.  Do they also keep the property in reasonable condition?

I agree that you need to raise the rent, and if you are allowed to do so raise to full market levels.  That might get rid of them, but if it doesn't then the answer is for you to refer any further contact to your property manager (do not engage on anything directly ever again) and then try to divorce your emotions from the situation - this rental is a business proposition not a personal one.  If your property manager is running to you with complaints that the tenant is difficult you need to shut that down: a simple "thank you for letting me know" should be sufficient to anything that doesn't need action from you.  You could authorise the property manager to reply in the same way to the tenant if the tenant makes any contact that doesn't need action from them.

After that all you need to do is ensure that the rent is raised to market levels every year.

If the tenant is coming to the property manager with issues that do need attention, such as constant small repairs, this should be documented.  If you have numerous call-outs needing action over a year then you have the perfect excuse to ask the tenant to leave and if they don't to evict them: you will then have evidence that the property needs a complete refurbishment/rehab and needs to be empty for this to happen. 

If you can't step back and treat this as a business matter divorced from your own feelings then you may not be cut out to be a landlord.

Papa bear

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2021, 07:52:21 AM »
I believe the eviction moratorium is in place for non-payment of rent, but does not restrict for other breaches of the lease. 

For instance, my leases state that the tenants must abide by all federal, state, and local ordinances.  You could get ticky tacky and I’m sure they violate something. 

But, as I’ve just gone through, I weighed the options of forcing someone out vs the cash for keys.  I took the “if you move out, I’ll give you your deposit back, even though you’re behind on rent and there are damages” and went from there.  It sucked for a bit, but the place is rented again, with market rent, and people who pay on time.  Given the timeline and costs of evictions in my county, cash for keys was the better option.


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Sibley

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2021, 08:30:07 AM »
OP, you said they're month to month? If you want them out, all you have to do is do the notice to vacate. They don't have a lease.

However, good chance they'd fight it. Doesn't mean you wouldn't win, but still a lot of hassle. Easiest option is to raise the rent to market level and let your PM do their job. They might pay the increase, the might move out. Either way, you don't hear from them because the PM does.

Dicey

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2021, 08:40:42 AM »
If you hire a PM and then don't use them to do what you hired them for, aren't you just wasting your money? Step back from the situation until you have clarity, the restrictions ease, or both.

PMJL34

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2021, 10:44:29 PM »
Thanks OP for the added info,

I completely glossed over the PM part lol. Thanks others for catching that.

Despite his criminal arrest history, he doesn't have an eviction on his record. Trust me, he doesn't want an eviction. Imagine how hard it is to find a rental with arrest history + eviction. For this reason, I suspect he will leave when you boost the rent.

Yes, raise the rent. You don't need to know how much you can raise rent. That's what you have PMs for. Ask them (still weird that you don't know this stuff before buying a property). Get it to above market if possible so he leaves on his own accord.

If you need to evict...Again, you have PM to handle this. Make them earn their money.

As others have said. Take a step back and relax.

I know you haven't asked, but he doesn't sound like a bad tenant at all. I think the 30% below market + eviction pause is what's fueling your frustration/sense of powerlessness. If he's paying market rent, then I don't think there's an issue. I appreciate tenants who complain about small things (within reason). They typically keep the place nice and prevent small things from becoming big things. 

Best of luck! 

 

Car Jack

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #12 on: September 07, 2021, 07:28:06 AM »
I don't believe you have the temperament to be a landlord.  These are trivial issues and they're freaking you out.  Sell the property and be done with it.  I am absolutely not saying that it's a bad thing that you're not cut out to be a landlord.  I did it once myself, renting out my house while I went off to grad school and I also had a manager (who fired ME!).  I am not cut out to be a landlord and know it from that one experience.  VTI and even BRK/b are just fine with me.

Archipelago

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #13 on: September 08, 2021, 06:41:07 PM »
Thanks everyone for the responses. As a follow up, I ended up having a productive discussion with PM and we have a plan going forward. Rent raise in effect immediately, then an additional increase over time until near market level is achieved. Seemed like a lot of these responses called for expecting more of PM. Now that's set in motion and I'm on the same page with PM. An overall favorable outcome. Thank you.

Archipelago

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2021, 06:50:10 PM »
I don't believe you have the temperament to be a landlord.  These are trivial issues and they're freaking you out.  Sell the property and be done with it.  I am absolutely not saying that it's a bad thing that you're not cut out to be a landlord.  I did it once myself, renting out my house while I went off to grad school and I also had a manager (who fired ME!).  I am not cut out to be a landlord and know it from that one experience.  VTI and even BRK/b are just fine with me.

Hi Car Jack, I'm sorry you read it that way. I didn't mention it in the initial post, but we're talking someone who knows where I live, lives close by, and has an extensive history of violence, illegal possession of weapons, and drugs. I believe it's reasonable to feel some sense of concern here.

I'm feeling better overall and the situation seems fine at this point. I'll follow up on this thread again in a couple of months with an update.

Car Jack

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Re: Problem tenant but eviction moratorium in place?
« Reply #15 on: September 09, 2021, 08:19:37 AM »
I really do hope it works out for you. 

I had someone worse than a violent felon in my rental.  A town cop.  Fortunately for me, they found something better and up and left one night out of the blue.