Unsanitary Tenant

[joer1212]

I have a tenant in Massachusetts whose apartment smells terrible. She even allows her dog to urinate and defecate on the floor. The stench is so bad that you can smell it all the way out in the hallway. She's also a hoarder, and her unit looks like a junkyard.

I have told her to please keep the apartment clean on several occasions. She basically yeses me to death, and then proceeds to ignore me.

If I call the health inspector, and her apartment is condemned, what happens?

Would I be liable for the unsanitary conditions that she caused?
Would I be responsible for putting her up in a hotel?
Would she then get to move back in when the unsanitary condition is cleared up?

[Metalcat]

I would call a lawyer.

[Frankies Girl]

What does your lease say about the tenant's responsibility to upkeep/care of the unit?

If you have (legally allowable) verbiage in the lease that says she's required to keep the unit reasonably sanitary and tidy, then you have grounds to evict her, and seek $$ damages for anything that isn't covered by her damage deposit. I would then make sure to document the mess (photos/descriptions) and costs involved with mitigating the mess after she's out.

But I'm not a LL or a lawyer, so totally agree you need to talk to a RE lawyer familiar with the area's rental law to see what your legal rights are and how to proceed.

[joer1212]

What does your lease say about the tenant's responsibility to upkeep/care of the unit?

If you have (legally allowable) verbiage in the lease that says she's required to keep the unit reasonably sanitary and tidy, then you have grounds to evict her, and seek $$ damages for anything that isn't covered by her damage deposit. I would then make sure to document the mess (photos/descriptions) and costs involved with mitigating the mess after she's out.

But I'm not a LL or a lawyer, so totally agree you need to talk to a RE lawyer familiar with the area's rental law to see what your legal rights are and how to proceed.

Just read her month-to-month lease, and it states the following:

Tenant will: (1) keep the premises clean, sanitary, and in good condition and, upon termination of the tenancy, return the premises to Landlord in a condition identical to that which existed when Tenant took occupancy, except for ordinary wear and tear.

[former player]

Your tenant quite possibly has mental health issues, but whether her behavioural choices are voluntary or not it is clear that they are not going to change without significant intervention.

Your options I think are to contact social services to try to get her help or to start eviction proceedings, and which you choose depends on your view as to what if any social obligations you feel towards your tenant.   Or perhaps you know of relatives of hers who might be prepared to get involved?

I don't know what role a health inspector might have.  Generally I think in my jurisdiction their powers only relate to the physical state of a property and not to a tenant's behaviour, so nothing they could do would change what your tenant does.   Perhaps if they condemned the property as unfit for human habitation (hopefully making it clear that this was because of the tenants actions not any failure on your part) that might provide evidence to help you in eviction proceedings?  But it could make rehabbing the place more bureaucratic and onerous and have an effect on future value/letting ability.

I'm afraid I would probably go straight to eviction.   You need to document all your previous visits and what you have said to your tenant, and I would make a final visit with a property professional of some sort (lettings agent, home inspector, etc.) who will provide independent evidence of the state of the property and that it is due to the tenant's actions.  That should help with the eviction and perhaps also with claiming the rehab costs back from the tenant or perhaps your insurance.

If you think the dog is being mistreated badly enough you might try to get animal services or an animal rescue involved.  If the dog were removed that would put an end to the ongoing damage from the dog at least.

[SunnyDays]

Check out the mass.gov website.  It has a section on hoarders.

But I would definitely report her to the health department and animal services.  What are you afraid you will be liable for?  This isn’t your doing.  But to cover yourself, a written notice to her to clean up should be your minimum action.  Maybe cc it to the health department so she knows that they are now aware of the problem.  But unless there’s some family or friend to make her get help, it will likely be pointless and you’ll have to evict anyways.  Which may involve a lawyer.

[joer1212]

Your tenant quite possibly has mental health issues, but whether her behavioural choices are voluntary or not it is clear that they are not going to change without significant intervention.

Your options I think are to contact social services to try to get her help or to start eviction proceedings, and which you choose depends on your view as to what if any social obligations you feel towards your tenant.   Or perhaps you know of relatives of hers who might be prepared to get involved?

I don't know what role a health inspector might have.  Generally I think in my jurisdiction their powers only relate to the physical state of a property and not to a tenant's behaviour, so nothing they could do would change what your tenant does.   Perhaps if they condemned the property as unfit for human habitation (hopefully making it clear that this was because of the tenants actions not any failure on your part) that might provide evidence to help you in eviction proceedings?  But it could make rehabbing the place more bureaucratic and onerous and have an effect on future value/letting ability.

I'm afraid I would probably go straight to eviction.   You need to document all your previous visits and what you have said to your tenant, and I would make a final visit with a property professional of some sort (lettings agent, home inspector, etc.) who will provide independent evidence of the state of the property and that it is due to the tenant's actions.  That should help with the eviction and perhaps also with claiming the rehab costs back from the tenant or perhaps your insurance.

If you think the dog is being mistreated badly enough you might try to get animal services or an animal rescue involved.  If the dog were removed that would put an end to the ongoing damage from the dog at least.

Check out the mass.gov website.  It has a section on hoarders.

But I would definitely report her to the health department and animal services.  What are you afraid you will be liable for?  This isn’t your doing.  But to cover yourself, a written notice to her to clean up should be your minimum action.  Maybe cc it to the health department so she knows that they are now aware of the problem.  But unless there’s some family or friend to make her get help, it will likely be pointless and you’ll have to evict anyways.  Which may involve a lawyer.

After careful consideration, I decided to hire a lawyer today. It's going to cost me $2500, but he'll take care of the entire process, from start to finish. In addition, he'll avoid the legal pitfalls that I would be liable to fall into. Sometimes, it's worth it to just bite the bullet and pay.

[former player]

Best of luck with it. It could be useful to other landlords here if you were willing to document how it goes.

[cool7hand]

Talk to a lawyer. A tenant does not have the right to use the property in such a way as to damage it, which is exactly what noxious substances such as urine and feces do. If you know about the problem and fail to act, you are hurting your position in the long run.

[Metalcat]

After careful consideration, I decided to hire a lawyer today. It's going to cost me $2500, but he'll take care of the entire process, from start to finish. In addition, he'll avoid the legal pitfall that I would be liable to fall into. Sometimes, it's worth it to just bite the bullet and pay.

I've hired many lawyers in my time and never wished I hadn't. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to legal conflicts. As a landlord, it's just a normal business cost.

[SimpleCycle]

Massachusetts has a lot of tenant protections, so I think the lawyer is a good idea.  It's a sad situation for the tenant, but your interest is in protecting your property.

My sister dealt with something similar but her tenant also was behind on rent, which made the eviction process easier.

[AccidentialMustache]

Maybe I'm dumb, but with a month-to-month lease, isn't the eviction process is, "I won't be renewing your lease. Please return the keys by <day at the end of this or next month>"? You'll probably need a landlord anyway, because based on your description I don't expect things to go well and you to have the keys by the end of the month.

We told tenants with a 1-year lease, "hey, we're going to sell this rental as a SFH, it'll sell better without tenants, so we won't renew your lease." We told them in, I think, Jan, lease ending in Aug. As it turns out, tenants absolutely loved the house and got their parents to buy it from us when they couldn't find anywhere else that was as good for them as that house.

I wouldn't count on the don't-renew-and-sell plan as a sales tactic though. That was pretty random and one-off.

[Metalcat]

Maybe I'm dumb, but with a month-to-month lease, isn't the eviction process is, "I won't be renewing your lease. Please return the keys by <day at the end of this or next month>"? You'll probably need a landlord anyway, because based on your description I don't expect things to go well and you to have the keys by the end of the month.

We told tenants with a 1-year lease, "hey, we're going to sell this rental as a SFH, it'll sell better without tenants, so we won't renew your lease." We told them in, I think, Jan, lease ending in Aug. As it turns out, tenants absolutely loved the house and got their parents to buy it from us when they couldn't find anywhere else that was as good for them as that house.

I wouldn't count on the don't-renew-and-sell plan as a sales tactic though. That was pretty random and one-off.

Laws differ dramatically in different jurisdictions.

There's absolutely nowhere I've lived where just not renewing a lease would entitle me to evict a tenant.

This case involves health and safety and possible medical/disability issues, so that complicates the laws involved. There's no way I would touch this with a 10 ft pole without consulting a very good lawyer first because if this person gets their own lawyer, then disability and discrimination laws could come into play.

[Fishindude]

Talk to a lawyer. A tenant does not have the right to use the property in such a way as to damage it, which is exactly what noxious substances such as urine and feces do. If you know about the problem and fail to act, you are hurting your position in the long run.

This is the right answer.
Do whatever you have to do to get them out of the place ASAP.

[joer1212]

Maybe I'm dumb, but with a month-to-month lease, isn't the eviction process is, "I won't be renewing your lease. Please return the keys by <day at the end of this or next month>"?

Not in a liberal state it doesn't.

[joer1212]

Talk to a lawyer. A tenant does not have the right to use the property in such a way as to damage it, which is exactly what noxious substances such as urine and feces do. If you know about the problem and fail to act, you are hurting your position in the long run.

We also just had a health inspector send her a letter for an inspection this Thursday. She said if the condition is very bad, she will condemn the unit, and my tenant will be temporarily evicted until the issue is resolved. When asked if this could backfire on me, she assured me it won't, if the tenant caused the unsanitary condition. Let's see what happens.

[joer1212]

Massachusetts has a lot of tenant protections, so I think the lawyer is a good idea.

Is it as bad as New York?

[Metalcat]

Talk to a lawyer. A tenant does not have the right to use the property in such a way as to damage it, which is exactly what noxious substances such as urine and feces do. If you know about the problem and fail to act, you are hurting your position in the long run.

We also just had a health inspector send her a letter for an inspection this Thursday. She said if the condition is very bad, she will condemn the unit, and my tenant will be temporarily evicted until the issue is resolved. When asked if this could backfire on me, she assured me it won't, if the tenant caused the unsanitary condition. Let's see what happens.

I don't know that you and the inspector have the same definition of backfiring on you. Having to remove her, then clean up her mess and damage, then let her back in sounds like a pretty suboptimal outcome for you.

Did you consult a lawyer first?

[former player]

Talk to a lawyer. A tenant does not have the right to use the property in such a way as to damage it, which is exactly what noxious substances such as urine and feces do. If you know about the problem and fail to act, you are hurting your position in the long run.

We also just had a health inspector send her a letter for an inspection this Thursday. She said if the condition is very bad, she will condemn the unit, and my tenant will be temporarily evicted until the issue is resolved. When asked if this could backfire on me, she assured me it won't, if the tenant caused the unsanitary condition. Let's see what happens.

I don't know that you and the inspector have the same definition of backfiring on you. Having to remove her, then clean up her mess and damage, then let her back in sounds like a pretty suboptimal outcome for you.

Did you consult a lawyer first?

It could actually work out quite well.  If the health inspector requires a temporary eviction then there's a decent chance that the health inspector will get this person out of the property and into temporary accommodation.  If at the same time OP's lawyer is working on a permanent eviction then by the time the property is cleaned up the legal eviction may have taken effect and there will be no need to let her return.

If there is a temporary eviction it's probably OK at that point to change the locks, too - and this would be a good idea to prevent the tenant from sneaking back.  I'm not at all sure what the legal position is going to be about the tenant's belongings, some of which will be personal necessities and most of which will be hoarded and need to be disposed of for sanitary reasons.   An order from the health inspector to dispose of everything left on the premises after the temporary eviction might be the best answer there, but again I think OP needs to consult their lawyer on that.

[Metalcat]

Talk to a lawyer. A tenant does not have the right to use the property in such a way as to damage it, which is exactly what noxious substances such as urine and feces do. If you know about the problem and fail to act, you are hurting your position in the long run.

We also just had a health inspector send her a letter for an inspection this Thursday. She said if the condition is very bad, she will condemn the unit, and my tenant will be temporarily evicted until the issue is resolved. When asked if this could backfire on me, she assured me it won't, if the tenant caused the unsanitary condition. Let's see what happens.

I don't know that you and the inspector have the same definition of backfiring on you. Having to remove her, then clean up her mess and damage, then let her back in sounds like a pretty suboptimal outcome for you.

Did you consult a lawyer first?

It could actually work out quite well.  If the health inspector requires a temporary eviction then there's a decent chance that the health inspector will get this person out of the property and into temporary accommodation.  If at the same time OP's lawyer is working on a permanent eviction then by the time the property is cleaned up the legal eviction may have taken effect and there will be no need to let her return.

If there is a temporary eviction it's probably OK at that point to change the locks, too - and this would be a good idea to prevent the tenant from sneaking back.  I'm not at all sure what the legal position is going to be about the tenant's belongings, some of which will be personal necessities and most of which will be hoarded and need to be disposed of for sanitary reasons.   An order from the health inspector to dispose of everything left on the premises after the temporary eviction might be the best answer there, but again I think OP needs to consult their lawyer on that.

Yes, I understand that, but my point was that without proper legal advice and procedures, this *could* absolutely backfire on OP. So I wouldn't put much stock in the inspector saying that it can't.

And OP still hasn't mentioned aby legal advice.

[BNgarden]

...After careful consideration, I decided to hire a lawyer today. It's going to cost me $2500, but he'll take care of the entire process, from start to finish. In addition, he'll avoid the legal pitfalls that I would be liable to fall into. Sometimes, it's worth it to just bite the bullet and pay.

OP did hire a lawyer.

[Metalcat]

...After careful consideration, I decided to hire a lawyer today. It's going to cost me $2500, but he'll take care of the entire process, from start to finish. In addition, he'll avoid the legal pitfalls that I would be liable to fall into. Sometimes, it's worth it to just bite the bullet and pay.

OP did hire a lawyer.

Ah, thanks, I forgot

[KarefulKactus15]

I can't imagine a state with heavy tenant protections. Around here you just provide the tenant with the required notice per the tenant / landlord laws and that's that, typically if it's a trash tenant, the stated reason is for unit improvements.

If it's a good tenant, well why are you even kicking them out.

If they don't leave by x date and you filed eviction, the sheriff comes, kicks them out and all there stuff gets set out front for 3 days (hopefully no one steals it, but not your problem)