Unique and difficult dilemma regarding a tenant..

[Nir]

Hi All,

I have a difficult dilemma how to deal with a tenant in a triplex in Ontario. This guy helps by being a handyman, fixing things, being the most knowledgeable about the property and keeping his eye on things.. he cuts the grass and helps shovel snow sometimes.. (not always but no one else does that)

ON THE OTHER HAND, he is not paying full rent, missing $50, $100 or $200 each month. Also, none of the above is part of our agreement.

He deposits the rents directly into my account and was the only tenant not willing to provide post dated cheques (now you know why)

I`m tempted to send him a Notice to End a Tenancy Early For Non-payment of Rent (Form N4) today BUT here is why I`m having such a difficult dilemma:

Yes, he`s paying on average $100 less than he should BUT he easily saves me $300 a month by being a handyman, property manager and maintenance guy. he literally saves me all property management fees and maintenance and repair costs!

So... is it a win-win situation or not? What would you do in this situation?



THANKS & REGARDS,
Neil

 

[housingrental]

I don`t like hiring tenants but maybe you should set him up on salary and formalize him being your super?
I`d recommend finding someone else to hire in the area to replace the tasks he`s doing if possible
Seems like you owe him $$ for labour done but not paid and wouldn`t he say this if you tried to evict?

I`d talk to him before resorting to an ltb case you might lose. Try to come to a written agreement. If keeping him doing work outline pay and job tasks. Talk with your insurance company too.


QUOTE (investmart @ Jun 2 2008, 03:21 PM) Hi All,

I have a difficult dilemma how to deal with a tenant in a triplex in Ontario. This guy helps by being a handyman, fixing things, being the most knowledgeable about the property and keeping his eye on things.. he cuts the grass and helps shovel snow sometimes.. (not always but no one else does that)

ON THE OTHER HAND, he is not paying full rent, missing $50, $100 or $200 each month. Also, none of the above is part of our agreement.

He deposits the rents directly into my account and was the only tenant not willing to provide post dated cheques (now you know why)

I`m tempted to send him a Notice to End a Tenancy Early For Non-payment of Rent (Form N4) today BUT here is why I`m having such a difficult dilemma:

Yes, he`s paying on average $100 less than he should BUT he easily saves me $300 a month by being a handyman, property manager and maintenance guy. he literally saves me all property management fees and maintenance and repair costs!

So... is it a win-win situation or not? What would you do in this situation?



THANKS & REGARDS,
Neil

 

[invst4profit]

This is a unhealthy business relationship. He seemes to decide each month what his time and labour is worth and not you. If he needes more money he just decides to do more work and tell you at rent time what he is charging.
Make him pay full rent and if you want him to do work tell him what it is and how much you are paying for it. Do not allow him to decide what needs to be done or when to do it and definatly do not allow him to decide how much you are paying.
Relationships like this can easily get out of hand and what he is doing can have an effect on the legal rental amount you are charging.
Sit down with him spell it out clearly and Make him pay full rent.

 

[kopilas]

Look into this a little deeper - maybe your tenant wants a lower rent in exchange for some duties and feels that they deserve the discount. Consider having two agreements in place - one for the tenancy and the other for maintenance. The tenant must pay his rent and only if the work is complete to your satisfaction will you pay him for work completed. This way the tenant is motivated to the work set out for them in exchange for a rent credit and you get a cost effective property mangement expense. Keeping the two seperate will remove potential headaches for you. If it goes to the LTB, they could rule for the tenant and say that there is a history of a lowered rent and therefore they only need to pay the new lower rate and you are still left with the maintenance expense to deal with.

Besides, what would the increase in rent be based on?! Your stated rental amount or the tenants assumed discount in rent?! Difficult to prove since the tenant now has a history of lowered and accepted rent amounts that they can show to the LTB. When in doubt, spell it out.

Tom

 

[Nir]

Adam, Greg and Tom,

THANK YOU FOR THE SUPERB ADVICE!!!

I spoke with the tenant and he promised to deposit the amount missing from this month rent by Monday June 9th. (I hope and believe he will. However, if for any reason he doesn`t I will send him form N4 unfortunately)

Sounds like he understands the situation and hopefully we are on the same page now. I explained to him if he wants to do some work, I am willing to pay for material only not labor as otherwise I prefer doing it myself. - an advice I really liked and read in this forum under a different post (not sure if it was your advice Greg or someone else`s..).

I also told him he can not decide what needs to be done, when to do it and definitely can not decide how much I am paying (Your words Greg ). If he thinks something should be fixed he should tell me why and the price in advance and ONLY if I agree, can work on that, not before.

Lastly, I clearly explained to him that he must deposit the full rent amount every month NO EXCEPTIONS. If there is work we both agree should be done and agree on the price, then we will reconcile the difference SEPARATE from the rent. The rent must still be paid in full.

Sounds like problem solved but as you know there can always be surprises when it comes to dealing with people. I will let you know if I have any issue with this tenant in the future..

Thanks again.

Regards,
Neil