Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly - Landlord Forum thread 324473

Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly by Chloe (Georgia) on September 15, 2014 @17:40

My husband and I recently had to PCS and could not sell our home, so we had no other choice but to rent out our property. This is our first time as landlords and have made many mistakes and we have unfortuneatly learned the hard way that tenants will not think twice about taking advantage of a situation. Within a week of tenant moving in she installed a satellite dish on our very expensive, upgraded tin roof. It specifically states in our contract that she has to have written permission for it. We were not informed of it until a few days later after it had been installed by a neighbor. We contacted our tenant and explained that she was in breach of contract and she claimed she had verbal consent from myself; she did not. We sent her a certified letter outlining the breach of contract. Another week goes by and we are informed by a neighbor again that the dish is being removed and is now on the front lawn, which is in violation of our HOA, and now we have holes in our roof that have been filled with silicon caulk. I feel she should have to repair the sheet itself since she was never given permission to put it on the roof in the first place. Now, we have a roof that isn't in the condition we left it in and an HOA violation. Fast forward a month and I give her 24 hour notice of inspection of the property and to also replace air conditioner filters. She refuses because it is not during "normal business hours." My husband is in the Army, we live 4 hours away and weekends are the only option for us. It states in our lease that we will do M-F inspections if possible, but does not limit us to that. She has never paid rent by the 1st of the month, which is the due date, and has been our tenant for 5 months now. She waits until right before the late fee would kick in, and pays it then. We had a property manager that was great and on top of everything, but she soon realized she was friends with the tenants mother and quickly became very lenient towards the tenant, so we parted ways and are left to deal with this nightmare alone. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

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Re: Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly by Bill on September 15, 2014 @18:03	[ Reply ]

You have already learned of the poor service that proper managers typically render. And, you have learned how they will fill your property with deadbeat friends and relatives. Next time you rent, think about a month to month lease or a 6 month lease. Maybe the easiest thing you can do is wait out the lease and deduct all the expenses from the deposit and hope it covers them all. Especially since the property is in an HOA that probably limits how many times per year you can rent the property. Somehow, you are going to have to get that dish out of the front yard. Do you have it in your lease that the tenant pays the fine for all violations?

Re: Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly by jannie (IL) on September 15, 2014 @18:53	[ Reply ]

I assume you have a year lease & like Bill I would probably wait it out and use the Security Deposit at the end. I would use Month to Month leases in your situation in the future. Long distance rentals can work, but it's difficult. Are your rent payments mailed to you or how to do you receive them - direct deposit? Inspections: I would mail certified Return receipt,and e-mail that you will be doing a maintenance inspection of the property on x which would probably be a weekend. Make sure the letter gets there before the 24 hour notice. And then arrive at the appointed date. Don't address the e-mails from her saying you can't come. Good luck.

Re: Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly by MrDan (Georgia) on September 15, 2014 @21:42	[ Reply ]

If the landlord claims that the tenant has violated a term of the lease, you must inform the tenant in writing of the supposed violation and give the tenant a reasonable time to correct the problem. If the tenant does not make a good faith effort to correct the problem, the landlord can begin eviction proceedings. You put the violation of lease in writing to tenant about Satellite Dish violation. That’s good. Did you provide any written instructions on where the dish could be installed, when you notified the tenant that it could not be installed on roof? Did the tenant have this information at lease signing? The FCC states the tenant has a right to install a dish in any area that that the tenant controls within certain limits. The tenant cannot install a dish in common areas. See (http://www.fcc.gov/guides/installing-consumer-owned-antennas-and-satellite-dishes ) Does your tenant have a copy of the HOA rules and are they a part of the lease? “Fast forward a month” if the tenant has not cured the ‘Satellite Dish’ install, and you have accepted rent, you have lost the right to pursue that lease violation. If the violation continues the next month, issue a new ‘Notice to Cure’ the Satellite Disk. If not cured in seven days, you can start eviction proceedings. If you accept rent after the notice but before the cure, you will again loose the right to proceed. “She refuses entry because it is not during normal business hours." The “Covenant of Quiet Enjoyment “ is implied in every Georgia lease. The covenant of quiet enjoyment means more than just a noise-free environment. It is a more onerous obligation that provides that the landlord will not interfere with a tenant’s right of possession. Georgia courts have stated a Landlord has the right to enter under certain conditions, such as an emergency. At other times a Landlord is limited to times during normal business hours. Your tenant had every right under the lease to refused entry that was outside of normal business hours. You have violated the lease yourself by attempting to make the entry after normal business hours. Of course if the tenant says this is ok, then no violation has occurred. “She waits until right before the late fee would kick in, and pays it then. (Rent) It sounds like your lease has a grace period of five days, which the tenant uses. No lease violation here. The tenant is just doing what the lease allows as to rent payments. The best advice is to read the ‘Georgia Landlord Tenant Laws” and become very familiar with them. Please feel feel to consult an attorney if the need to evict becomes nessasary.

Re: Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly

Re: Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly by Anonymous on September 15, 2014 @23:48	[ Reply ]

Next time, use the LPA lease.

Re: Tenant in violation of contract repeatedly