Dealing with Your Tenant’s Unauthorised Occupants

I am sure like many another landlord, you have dropped by your rental property to check on how your new tenant is getting along, only to have a total stranger open the door in answer to the door bell. A stranger clad in a smelly, dirty t-shirt, an open beer can in his / her hand, a stranger who then has the nerve to question your identity! A stranger who, when asked where “your tenant” is informs you he / she is out and they also live here. Of course you have every right to lose your cool, after all this is not the person who signed the lease and pays the rent. How does it feel knowing someone other than your tenant is in your rental property without your having agreed to let them live there?

However, the situation is not an uncommon one, and every landlord always has to be on a constant lookout for unauthorised occupants. One way to keep the situation in check is by providing a clause in your lease that prohibits tenants from allowing unauthorised residents to live in your rental accommodation.

Ensure the clause specifies quite clearly that any guests your tenant might have over to stay are only permitted to stay over for 7-days, over that and they will be in violation of the lease signed. As well, the clause should state, in the event any other people occupy and live on your rental property, without the landlord’s written consent, will constitute a breach of this lease, with the rent being increased by $500.00 per person per month, and Owner at his discretion has the option to terminate the lease for this offence.

But, the lease won’t always stop these type of incidents from happening, though it does provide the means to solve the problem, allowing you to take legal recourse to enforce it, due to the clause contained in it regarding unauthorised tenants.

In case, you wish to enforce the lease, you do have the following 3-options:

1. Allow the unauthorised occupant to become an authorised resident, and if he proves to be cooperative give him a rental application and go ahead and screen him, as you would any other tenant.
2. If you approve of him / her, you can get him / her to sign the lease the original tenant signed, making them all 100% responsible for the agreement.
3. Or else, you can issue a lease violation notice giving your tenant a notice period to rectify the problem and remind him / her the penalty fee to be paid for allowing unauthorised tenants the use of your premises, as per the lease signed. This allows you some bargaining power, but do also include a Tenant’s Notice of Intention to Vacate Form along with the violation notice to show the tenants you strictly mean business and have no qualms about losing them.

If you forgot to put in an unauthorised tenant clause in the lease, you can still redeem the situation by using a Lease Update – Change of Terms Notice form to modify your lease agreement.

It is essential you are able to take a tough written stance in such unwarranted for situations. The tenant has to know there is nothing that will stop you from rectifying the problem, either by legal eviction or by making them conform to the rules. Never let the tenant even catch a hint of the fact that you prefer to avoid legal battles and having to involve yourself in unnecessary litigation.

Talking about legal and court proceedings, this is as good a time as any to remind landlords, it is important to include a clause in your lease regarding the covering of landlord attorney fees and court costs at the tenant’s expense.

As you must have already deduced, tenants who bring in unauthorised tenants are usually the kind of people who don’t always conform to the rules. That is why a landlord should always be prepared to begin eviction proceedings at any time. It is always wise to avoid tenant problems by avoiding problem tenants!