Additional occupants
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Depends where you are. Every province is a little different so call your landlord/tenant advisory board to confirm your local rights and regulations.
But first I must say that I have allowed long-term guests to stay at a few of my rentals. If the tenant has been a great customer, then I will allow long-term guests providing there are no issues or complaints arising from their occupancy. In one case, the long-term guest became a permanent tenant in that suite; and in another case, after the guest got on his feet, he requested to live in one of my other suites. I will go out of my way to accommodate good clients and usually only good things come from that practice.
If the tenant was not a good client, then my first step would be to ask if there were extra people living in the suite. If the tenant confirms, then explain that the suite was rented to one tenant and if there are going to be more tenants then they need to follow the proper application/approval procedure. I would also try to find a way to charge more money for more people, if possible. (Extra people = more utilities and more wear-and-tear.) For instance, if you have a separate utilities agreement, then that amount could possibly be renegotiated to accommodate the extra occupants.
If there is no way to get extra money, then I would give the tenant a deadline for the guests to leave. Otherwise, the entire tenancy could be at risk for breach of lease.
You should be able to "evict" the unauthorized occupants, but you may need to be able to prove that they are occupants rather than just guests. (For instance, do they have mail delivered to the suite?) If the tenant claims that the extra occupants are guests, then you would likely need to prove this in court. You may want to start making notes of who is there and when. Give notice to "inspect the state of repair of the premises" and make notes of how many beds, etc. after you leave.
Regards,
Sherilynn
But first I must say that I have allowed long-term guests to stay at a few of my rentals. If the tenant has been a great customer, then I will allow long-term guests providing there are no issues or complaints arising from their occupancy. In one case, the long-term guest became a permanent tenant in that suite; and in another case, after the guest got on his feet, he requested to live in one of my other suites. I will go out of my way to accommodate good clients and usually only good things come from that practice.
If the tenant was not a good client, then my first step would be to ask if there were extra people living in the suite. If the tenant confirms, then explain that the suite was rented to one tenant and if there are going to be more tenants then they need to follow the proper application/approval procedure. I would also try to find a way to charge more money for more people, if possible. (Extra people = more utilities and more wear-and-tear.) For instance, if you have a separate utilities agreement, then that amount could possibly be renegotiated to accommodate the extra occupants.
If there is no way to get extra money, then I would give the tenant a deadline for the guests to leave. Otherwise, the entire tenancy could be at risk for breach of lease.
You should be able to "evict" the unauthorized occupants, but you may need to be able to prove that they are occupants rather than just guests. (For instance, do they have mail delivered to the suite?) If the tenant claims that the extra occupants are guests, then you would likely need to prove this in court. You may want to start making notes of who is there and when. Give notice to "inspect the state of repair of the premises" and make notes of how many beds, etc. after you leave.
Regards,
Sherilynn
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- Sep 20, 2007
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From my personal experience, this is where we have had the most issues with problematic tenants. You sign good tenants with good references to a lease. At some point down the road, they end up letting their friends, or "new occupants" stay over, and eventually they end up living there. You have not authorized these "new occupants" to live in your rental unit, and have not had the opportunity to check their backgrounds.
We have had instances where these "new occupants" have been very problematic; drug problems, criminal issues, etc. They have no formal agreement in place with you, and they don`t necessarily care about the property. 95% of the time that we have had major problems with our places, this has been the exact scenario. I would advise to stay on top of these visitors, and be sure to get rid of them if they are unwilling to sign onto the lease agreement with you. All of our leases state that any visitor remaining on premises for more than 7 days MUST have written authorization from the landlord.
We have had instances where these "new occupants" have been very problematic; drug problems, criminal issues, etc. They have no formal agreement in place with you, and they don`t necessarily care about the property. 95% of the time that we have had major problems with our places, this has been the exact scenario. I would advise to stay on top of these visitors, and be sure to get rid of them if they are unwilling to sign onto the lease agreement with you. All of our leases state that any visitor remaining on premises for more than 7 days MUST have written authorization from the landlord.
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QUOTE (Sherilynn @ Sep 1 2010, 09:09 PM) Depends where you are. Every province is a little different so call your landlord/tenant advisory board to confirm your local rights and regulations.
But first I must say that I have allowed long-term guests to stay at a few of my rentals. If the tenant has been a great customer, then I will allow long-term guests providing there are no issues or complaints arising from their occupancy. In one case, the long-term guest became a permanent tenant in that suite; and in another case, after the guest got on his feet, he requested to live in one of my other suites. I will go out of my way to accommodate good clients and usually only good things come from that practice.
If the tenant was not a good client, then my first step would be to ask if there were extra people living in the suite. If the tenant confirms, then explain that the suite was rented to one tenant and if there are going to be more tenants then they need to follow the proper application/approval procedure. I would also try to find a way to charge more money for more people, if possible. (Extra people = more utilities and more wear-and-tear.) For instance, if you have a separate utilities agreement, then that amount could possibly be renegotiated to accommodate the extra occupants.
If there is no way to get extra money, then I would give the tenant a deadline for the guests to leave. Otherwise, the entire tenancy could be at risk for breach of lease.
You should be able to "evict" the unauthorized occupants, but you may need to be able to prove that they are occupants rather than just guests. (For instance, do they have mail delivered to the suite?) If the tenant claims that the extra occupants are guests, then you would likely need to prove this in court. You may want to start making notes of who is there and when. Give notice to "inspect the state of repair of the premises" and make notes of how many beds, etc. after you leave.
Regards,
Sherilynn
Great post Sherilynn!
But first I must say that I have allowed long-term guests to stay at a few of my rentals. If the tenant has been a great customer, then I will allow long-term guests providing there are no issues or complaints arising from their occupancy. In one case, the long-term guest became a permanent tenant in that suite; and in another case, after the guest got on his feet, he requested to live in one of my other suites. I will go out of my way to accommodate good clients and usually only good things come from that practice.
If the tenant was not a good client, then my first step would be to ask if there were extra people living in the suite. If the tenant confirms, then explain that the suite was rented to one tenant and if there are going to be more tenants then they need to follow the proper application/approval procedure. I would also try to find a way to charge more money for more people, if possible. (Extra people = more utilities and more wear-and-tear.) For instance, if you have a separate utilities agreement, then that amount could possibly be renegotiated to accommodate the extra occupants.
If there is no way to get extra money, then I would give the tenant a deadline for the guests to leave. Otherwise, the entire tenancy could be at risk for breach of lease.
You should be able to "evict" the unauthorized occupants, but you may need to be able to prove that they are occupants rather than just guests. (For instance, do they have mail delivered to the suite?) If the tenant claims that the extra occupants are guests, then you would likely need to prove this in court. You may want to start making notes of who is there and when. Give notice to "inspect the state of repair of the premises" and make notes of how many beds, etc. after you leave.
Regards,
Sherilynn
Great post Sherilynn!
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If you are in Ontario you have 60 days from discovering there presence to issue an eviction notice. After the 60 days they become your tenant with all the legal rights of any tenant that has signed a lease.
After that point in time it is virtually impossible to evict without major cause. And if you do not know there name you can not even apply to evict them.
After that point in time it is virtually impossible to evict without major cause. And if you do not know there name you can not even apply to evict them.
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QUOTE (invst4profit @ Sep 11 2010, 04:08 PM) If you are in Ontario you have 60 days from discovering there presence to issue an eviction notice. After the 60 days they become your tenant with all the legal rights of any tenant that has signed a lease.
After that point in time it is virtually impossible to evict without major cause. And if you do not know there name you can not even apply to evict them.
Even prior to the 60 days, things can become very, very complicated.
After that point in time it is virtually impossible to evict without major cause. And if you do not know there name you can not even apply to evict them.
Even prior to the 60 days, things can become very, very complicated.