concerns about tenants - Page 2

[BetsyS]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Originially Posted by surrogate

Keyword is stored, i always assumed people used basements FOR storage.  Then again I live in an area with no basements...so IDK.  I rent, and I would be mortified if my landlord told me how many adults i could have visit at a time and for how long...woah...

The key is that the OP saw that the amount stored there changed SIGNIFICANTLY (by roughly an apartment's-worth of stuff) partially through the lease.  Could they have emptied a storage unit?  Sure.  But given all the other things she saw, it's an awful lot to assume and trust when it's your butt on the line if someone gets hurt in a fire.

As for how many people could visit at a time and for how long, you might be envisioning something different from what I'm talking about.  Having someone stay for the weekend (or two) is not the same as having someone (or 3-4) for a month.  And in places where it's customary for a landlord to pay one (or all) of the utilities as part of the lease, I can't imagine a landlord NOT doing this as a matter of managing their costs for water usage, electricity, etc.

Originally Posted by yarngoddess 

Some states (maybe all) have a max number of people based on number of rooms. 

Where I was, it was a matter of number of bathrooms per adult.  And it changed by town.  :/
 

Originally Posted by BetsyS 

Not every lease states this.  It's something that you have to decide as a landlord.

I've rented before, and it outlined every. single. thing.  Down to "only one nail hole per wall is permitted".  yes, and we still (stupidly) signed the lease.  :lol

Our current lease is only signed by my husband, doesn't list occupents at all, and is very, very laid back. 
 

completely different trains of thought there.

Agreed--it's completely a landlord-by-landlord thing.  We've always used a very detailed, non-standard lease; but have never gotten to the number of nail holes in a wall (probably because "leaving it in the condition they found it" covers that... and I'll use security deposit funds to repair it if they don't).

It does change the relationship between landlord-leasee, though.  In our current (easy going lease) house, we have no problem with doing basic maintenance.  Cleaning the gutters, power washing the house, adding perennials to the borders, unclogging the drain, fixing minor stuff.

In the (more detailed, we were scared of messing something up) previous lease, we called that landlord for every. single. stinking. thing.  Because we didn't want to be accused of messing something up.  We were terrified of him, and it was a long, long year.  Then, he didn't understand why we didn't renew the lease.  Go figure.

[surrogate]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Originially Posted by surrogate

Keyword is stored, i always assumed people used basements FOR storage.  Then again I live in an area with no basements...so IDK.  I rent, and I would be mortified if my landlord told me how many adults i could have visit at a time and for how long...woah...

The key is that the OP saw that the amount stored there changed SIGNIFICANTLY (by roughly an apartment's-worth of stuff) partially through the lease.  Could they have emptied a storage unit?  Sure.  But given all the other things she saw, it's an awful lot to assume and trust when it's your butt on the line if someone gets hurt in a fire.

As for how many people could visit at a time and for how long, you might be envisioning something different from what I'm talking about.  Having someone stay for the weekend (or two) is not the same as having someone (or 3-4) for a month.  And in places where it's customary for a landlord to pay one (or all) of the utilities as part of the lease, I can't imagine a landlord NOT doing this as a matter of managing their costs for water usage, electricity, etc.

 

Ok I am guilty of skimming, I didnt see that she said she had seen what they stored down there before...whoops.

I think i was thinking of guests as people coming to VISIT (like having someone over) not someone staying overnight/weeks/months and that I wouldnt sign a lease saying I couldnt have more than X people in my house at one time.  My current lease is very basic, but i have spoken to my landlords 2x since I moved in, once when I signed the lease and once when my A/C stopped working.  I don't bother them for little stuff, and I take care of the house like I own it.  Here landlords dont pay anything, tenants pay all utilities
 

[cappuccinosmom]

Wow.  That is not good.

Like everyone else said, you can't turn a blind eye to this.  1.  You need to find out what the occupancy and zoning laws are.  This probably breaks a few of them.  2.  You need better communication with the tenants.  First you need to find out what is really going on.  Other people moved in?  Or visiting?  For how long?  If they have essentially moved another family in, that needs to be dealt with.  You can do this non-confrontationally.  "We realized that we had made a mistake allowing for the basement to be turned into a bedroom.  We feel bad about that, but we're going to need to ask that you find other arrangements.  It is illegal to use the basement that way (if it is), and if it was found out, we'd be liable.  But the bigger problem at the moment is it's not legal for us to allow double-occupancy in the house because of zoning/egress/occupancy laws.  We understand that it's difficult to find a place, but were going to have to ask you to have this other family find another place to live, again because if they don't we are liable.  And we also want all of you to be living in a house that is safe and not a danger to you in case of fire."  Then tell them you'll be sending a letter by certified mail with the same information, so that everyone can have it for their records.

We're landlords and we do have a maximum number of allowable people in the house.  It's reasonable for family visits and guests, but seriously, the one house is so small you'd be hard pressed to even fit that number of people in.  There is a point where the number becomes hazardous, and folks need to find larger spaces if they want to have a horde of people get together.  And definitely having endless couch surfers for indefinite periods of time or whole families of relatives move in could be illegal, depending on your area, and definitely not something a landlord should *have* to allow if they don't want to.  The lease is signed to the people renting the house.  Nobody who wasn't originally known to the landlord as part of the tenancy when the lease was signed has the *right* to live there.  The landlord and tenant may agree to allow someone else, for a certain amount of time, or under certain circumstances, but that is up to the landlord.

[texmati]

Originally Posted by Denvergirlie 

Origin

Keyword is stored, i always assumed people used basements FOR storage.  Then again I live in an area with no basements...so IDK.  I rent, and I would be mortified if my landlord told me how many adults i could have visit at a time and for how long...woah...
 

Why would you be mortified? It's a part of many standard leases including my own. Yes, we can have guests for limited time, but only the 2 of us are legally allowed to live there and it states as such on our lease.

belive it or not, we own a home, and we have rules in our town/homeowners association clauses about how many families can permanantly live in a space.


OP, protect your family first. go with option #3, and look into how much it would be to make the basement safe use for a bedroom. If it's not much, it may be worth it to keep good tenants.