I am a small landlord, I own 6 units. I have a tenant who has predictably complained more than all the other tenants put together. Her complaints are often strange. She clearly does not like insects. She has complained about ants in the yard, she has complained about electrical problems, she has complained about the fireplace.
Professional inspection of the electrical problems resulted in the electrician saying that there was nothing wrong with the wiring. She claims that she has had multiple “entertainment centers” burn up because of the wiring.
Inspection of the chimney, which she wanted to know whether it was “safe” revealed that the chimney was one of the cleanest I have ever seen. There was apparently some back draft, and she said she was opening the flue correctly.
She has made complaints about finding bugs in the yard. She made multiple suggestions that I get monthly pest control spray treatments, which in my area is totally unnecessary.
Her latest concern is the garage door opener. I have had repair people come out to fix this opener, and it was legitimately jammed one time. Since that time, she has stated that it is making a humming noise, and that it does not open or close all the way. She has reported that she is concerned that the house will burn down because of the motor.
I really don’t know if this is normal paranoia or something more clinical. I’m getting concerned that she is going to try to break the garage door opener or some other weird thing. I am also concerned that she will be some kind of liability by reporting all of her grievances to a housing authority.
I could probably just evict her in the name of “remodeling” or possibly any other reason with the proper notice. Has anyone had a tenant like this? Should I be worried? I would have no problem turning this unit for a better tenant.
Tell her it is obvious the unit does not meet her needs and you will let her out of the lease so that she can find more suitable housing. Unless mental illness is involved, she wants attention.
I’ve given 30 day notice to unreasonable tenants. I suspect that “unreasonable complaints” is not grounds for a legal eviction. So, one more reason that I only do month to month.
I am fast to do repairs, and I expect to do repairs; it’s part of the job. But if a tenant keeps calling me out to repair things that aren’t broken, I’ve got better thing to do, and they can go and annoy some other landlord.
Sometimes it’s a desire for attention (women who have just learned they are getting a surprise divorce are the worst about bogus repair calls). Also, some tenants who are planning to leave apparently think they must have a reason that makes their move the landlord’s fault, so they can be annoying as they rack up reasons they can complain.
Mental illness might be the cause, and I’d just as soon not deal with it, since it’s hard to tell how bad the tenant is capable of becoming.
In general I give the tenant a perfect product. It has all the things that I supply in good working order if not new. I had a tenant that was similar to yours that complained about some amenities that were additional (dishwasher, garage door opener and garbage disposer), I went in to “repair” them and removed them. If she can’t deal with it I remove it. She will then either move out or run out of things to complain about.
I would spray the yard with over the counter bug spray and leave her a can.
The most important ? is she paying the rent, if so some leyway may be given. Good renters are hard to find and with unemployment rising , doubling up or Mom and Dad are going to be the renters option. About the only market I hear great things about is Austin , TX. With that said we feel your pain, in the neck that is.
Even if she pays rent properly but she’s not worthwhile. Try to convince her to find better place for her or find her a new home if possible. By the time you find new tenant cause she’s a real trouble.
What are the terms of your rental lease agreement?
If your building is not under rent control or rent stabilization, you should be able to give her adequate notice to let her out of her lease assuming she is on a month to month. She sounds slightly paranoid, however, should you need to evict her, you do NOT need to give her a reason… you can simply let her out of her lease.
To make sure you are in compliance and she cannot come back and sue you, protect yourself by going to your local housing authority www.hud.gov and search for the tenant laws in your state.
regarding the chimney, are you letting her use a gas or wood burner in the fireplace? I think that is a recipe for disaster with tenants. I put into my leases that the fireplace is decorative and the tenant is not to use it. I’ve had gas lines removed from the fireplace to prevent them from adding their own gas burner. That’s a lot easier than cleaning out a chimney or dealing with a house fire.
Our insurance goes up with a fireplace so we block it off if it hasn’t been blocked already.
I had a tennant complain about the (normal) amount of bugs outside. She asked me to call an exterminator. i told her I did …his number is 1-800-GOD. She finaly moved, I caleed the 1-800 number back to thank him!