Poor Housekeeping Could Cost Tenants

by Janet Portman, Inman News

Q: We own a house that we rent to an elderly woman and her son. We were called to repair a leak under the kitchen sink. The house was filthy: the rug had large food stains; the kitchen floor needed washing; the kitchen appliances were all food-stained; and two containers of food on the kitchen table had mold in them.

Worse, there were cockroaches scurrying everywhere.

When I mentioned the condition of the house to the son, he said that he sprayed. I told him the house also needed to be cleaned. He asked me who was I to come into his house and tell him what to do?

I would appreciate your advice as to my landlord rights. –Christine L.

A: Most states require tenants to keep the rental reasonably clean, and some go so far as to list the tenant’s specific duties, such as maintaining appliances in a way that does not damage them. Smart landlords will repeat these duties in a lease clause that tells the tenant what his responsibilities are — and that if he fails to live up to them, he may find himself on the receiving end of a “cure-or-quit” termination notice. If your state does not directly address tenant behavior in its codes, there’s nothing stopping you from writing your own lease clause, setting forth reasonable property-care practices and consequences for noncompliance.

No state legislates (nor should you impose) floor-washing schedules and refrigerator purge cycles, and no state makes moldy food on the table an evictable offense. However, when poor housekeeping habits result in unsanitary conditions that threaten the structure or the health or safety of other residents, landlords can step in. For example, if your tenants’ refusal to open the windows or use the fan in the bathroom has resulted in mold, you can insist that they begin using the ventilation options or face the consequences (a bill for the cost to remove the mold and repair the surfaces it’s grown on). Similarly, no one would argue that if you can trace the roach problem to your tenant’s kitchen, you are within your rights to demand that the practice be stopped (and you can bill the tenants for any eradication efforts you may have to undertake, too).

Janet Portman is an attorney and managing editor at Nolo. She specializes in landlord/tenant law and is co-author of “Every Landlord’s Legal Guide” and “Every Tenant’s Legal Guide.” She can be reached at janet@inman.com. 

What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor. To contact the writer, click the byline at the top of the story.
Copyright 2009 Janet Portman

See Janet Portman’s feature, Are Landlord’s ‘House Rules’ Illegal? 

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Tags: landlord+tenant, what+should+I+put+in+my+lease, real+estate+forms, tenant+background+checks, tenant+lease+agreement

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Filed under: AAOA Forum

This entry was posted on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 at 1:11 pm and is filed under AAOA Forum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Trudie Fry said at February 4th, 2009 at 11:54 pm

   Living in California, I was already aware of these ‘rules’ I find a gentle note on the door that won’t cause the tenant embarassment is the best course of action in my complex.

2. Landlord Wants to Offer Discount in Lieu of Interest on Security Deposit | AAOA - American Apartment Owners Association said at June 24th, 2009 at 12:21 pm

   [...] reached at janet@inman.com. Copyright 2009 Janet Portman   See Janet Portman’s feature, Poor Housekeeping Could Cost Tenants.   American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for [...]

3. Not All Violations Warrant Eviction | AAOA - American Apartment Owners Association said at July 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am

   [...] at janet@inman.com. Copyright 2009 Janet Portman   See Janet Portman’s feature, Poor Housekeeping Could Cost Tenants.  American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords [...]

4. Is Tenant Off the Hook for Damages? | AAOA - American Apartment Owners Association said at July 9th, 2009 at 6:43 am

   [...] Copyright 2009 Janet Portman   See Janet Portman’s feature, Poor Housekeeping Could Cost Tenants.  American Apartment Owners Association offers discounts on products and services for landlords [...]

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