Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement

Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement by Anonymous on June 1, 2012 @09:14

You are correct to want to see everyone before the lease siging. You really need to see them at the application time. It would not be good to get everyone primed up to move and have to tell them at the last minute that you do not like the looks of types of some of them.

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Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement by Wayne (CA) on June 1, 2012 @10:47	[ Reply ]

That is a very good point. Since the parents were from another state, I agreed to approve them just based on their paperwork (application, credit report, proof of income, etc.). As it turns out, they are much more conscientious renters than the son is. And we met him and his wife first. Makes me question my ability to adequately form an accurate impression. The son is a very slick talker and seemed like he'd be a good tenant. Every month he comes up with a new excuse as to why the rent is late. Do you have any advice for how I might get a better 'take' on a person when interviewing them? Thanks a lot for your advice!

Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement by A.T.SF (CA) on June 1, 2012 @11:20	[ Reply ]

Wayne, Knowledge is Power and you must not be taken by your slick talker. In California a few key rules are black and white.One is that rent is paid on time...no excuses. If your slick talker is occasionally late with the rent you can classify him as a nuisance and it is good grounds for eviction. But YOU must know how to be johnny on the spot with your 3 day pay or quit notices and the follow up that ensues. Check with your local County Rent Board and the guide lines are pretty clear. I never rent to someone, unless I can personally speak with the last landlord and their employer at the time of application. Now his parents have become Tenants by Proxy on your property. You should protect yourself by learning the definitions of Rental Occupancy. This LPA site has lots of good information for you to read to the right of this page in the pink sidebar. Take advantage of their free forms and letters...it will save you so much worry and time. You may also look into purchasing The California Landlords Law Book; Your Rights and Responsibility by Nolo Press from Amazon.

Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement by Anonymous on June 1, 2012 @12:15	[ Reply ]

"I never rent to someone, unless I can personally speak with the last landlord and their employer at the time of application." This is a good idea provided the person you are speaking is actually the landlord and owns the property. In any event, all landlords will give a good report on tenants they are trying to get rid of.

Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement

Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement by Anonymous on June 1, 2012 @20:43	[ Reply ]

Hi A.T.SF Thanks for your comments. I will definitely look into those resources! I'm pleased to say that I actually did serve the tenant with a 3 day pay or quit notice the 1st time he was 3 days late (it happened to be the very first month after the move-in month). He paid right up and now he's never more than 3 days late but he ALWAYS has an excuse as to why he couldn't get it to me the day it was due. Drives me crazy! I've just been waiting for the year's lease to get to 60 days from the end of its term so that I could send him notice that it won't be renewed! Today is the first time he's actually paid on the first of the month (the due date). Of course, I know that it's only because he's trying to make himself look good so that I'll get involved in the feud between him & his parents. The thing is, I'd really like to rent to his parents when the lease is up. I know I need to do some additional research on them before agreeing to rent it to them in their names only. Right now, it seems to me that the parents have the best of both worlds: they are now legal tenants (which I do like so their son can't kick them out) AND they carry no responsibility to me what-so-ever for rent or security (which I don't like for obvious reasons). The long and the short of it I believe is that they are all going to need to work out some kind of truce to live peacefully together till the end of the lease, OR one of them will need to break the agreement in some fashion, which means that I'd have to evict them ALL. I have a feeling that things could become more interesting... BTW, would I have to report the eviction of the parents if this came to pass?

Re: co-tenant or subletter disagreement