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I am renting to a woman and I have just recently found out that she is running a dog kennel out of the home (which I dont think she has a kennel license to do this). I wasnt aware of this until just recently because she always paid her rent ontime and she never had any problems. She never had mentioned to me that she was going to do this. So this past week I went by just to take a look at the house and I noticed about 30 dogs running around. Every room had different dogs, there were no windows open and it looked like very unsanitary conditions inside. The house had no furniture and the place is a mess inside. I mean it is destroyed. I had no idea this was going on and now I want to evict her and have her pay for the damages even if I have to sue her. Can you help me find out if i am eligible to get money from her? What should I do? How do I do this?
What does your Rental Agreement state regarding pets? Are there any restrictions regarding the operation of a Business or complying with local Zoning?
You can certainly give her notice if she has violated the agreement.
In my part of the world she would be served with a 3-Day Notice to Perform Covenant and then list the specific Lease or Rental Agreements violated.
In regards to Damages... You will need to be able to Prove Damages in Court, Obtain a Judgement against your Tenant(s) and then Attempt to Collect.
The Reality is that many Judgements go uncollected or are uncollectible.
Ultra has the right idea.
Remember that most courts rule in the favor of tenants, so what I'd do is this:
Send a formal letter to the tenant pointing to specific points that she's violated in either your rental agreement, or in the building zoning. Make sure these are facts. This letter should ask the tenant to remove the animals, and to allow a full inspection of the property for damages.
Send this through a signed carrier so you have a receipt of delivery. Give her 72 hours to reply, and if she doesn't...
send her another letter, being more insistent. Point out that she can will be evicted and you will start that process if she doesn't comply.
THEN start the 3-day notice procedure.
It takes longer, but the idea is that as a landlord, you need to be more flexible and reasonable than your tenant, as they tend to not be of the same 'means' as you are. So, most courts like it a lot if you show an ability to work with the tenant to maintain the lease, and resolve the specific issue before starting the legal process.
I know it's too late for this instance, but I learned in the school of hard knocks and will freely share here:
#1 Everything should be in writing. I made the mistake of saying I allowed pets with no written conditions. Those conditions were relayed verbally to one of my tenants. Because of insurance issues, I couldn't allow my tenents to have specific types of dogs. I put into writing that if any dog were keopt outside, it had to have clean water availabe to it at all times. (a pet peeve of mine). If I ever found the dog without water - it was a breach of contract.
My primary concern, since it was just a 3-room house was that a bachelor might want ot invite his buddies to stay with him. So I made the stipulation that there would be a $150 charge for any additional person(s) residing in the house.
#2 Never rent to a friend on a handshake. Friends will try to get you to do that. Trust me, DON'T.
#3 Never make a lease agreement per year - make it month to month. This gives you an out if things go wrong in a way you could never have foreseen - such as operating a kennel out of the house.
#4 Take pictures of the house before you rent it out. List everything you are leaving in the house - and I mean everything. The window air conditioner, refrigerator, stove, washer, dryer, rug, blinds or curtains, everything - and list them in the contract that you these things belong to the house and are not for sale.
#5 It's true that courts usually favor the tenant. However, there is a little known loophole in favor of the owner. If you want the person out and you don't want an argument or fight about it, DO NOT blame any wrong doing on your tenant. Simple tell the court that you want A) to sell the house; B) to move back into the house: C) want to renovate the house. If you just want your house back for your own personal use or reason, no court will argue and no tenant has the right to keep you from your property.
One of my tenants was "verbally advised" he could not have a pit bull, rottweiler, doberman, chow, wolf mix or german shepherd because of the wording on my insurance policy. He had a coon hound when he moved in and that was fine with me. Then, a year after he moved in, a girlfriend moved in with him. That was $150 extra per month. Two months later, she decided she wanted a puppy of her very own. So they got the first pup that came along - a pit bull. Not just any pit bull puppy. They went around the whole neighborhood bragging that this pup's grandfather killed a man. It got back to me.
Before I acted, I asked how to address it. My first letter to my tenant was handed to him by me. I stated that I was going to move back into the house and that this had nothing to do with anything he had done or not done. I also offered to give references as he had paid faithfully every month and on time.
He didn't take it well. He stopped paying the rent, stopped paying the water bill (which falls to the owner of the house if not paid) and started badmouthing me. I got an attorney, went tot he magistrate's office and then he was served by the court. We had a court date and the judge gave him 2 weeks to get out or be forcefully put out by the sheriff's department.
Now here's where it gets good.
There is no set time that you are expected to put it on the market if your reason for the eviction is that you want to sell it. And the judge was on my side through the whole thing. I even went through the court to garnish the wages of my former tenant and got everything he owed me including water bill and court costs.
Remember that most courts rule in the favor of tenants, so what I'd do is this:
Send a formal letter to the tenant pointing to specific points that she's violated in either your rental agreement, or in the building zoning. Make sure these are facts. This letter should ask the tenant to remove the animals, and to allow a full inspection of the property for damages.
Send this through a signed carrier so you have a receipt of delivery. Give her 72 hours to reply, and if she doesn't...
send her another letter, being more insistent. Point out that she can will be evicted and you will start that process if she doesn't comply.
THEN start the 3-day notice procedure.
It takes longer, but the idea is that as a landlord, you need to be more flexible and reasonable than your tenant, as they tend to not be of the same 'means' as you are. So, most courts like it a lot if you show an ability to work with the tenant to maintain the lease, and resolve the specific issue before starting the legal process.
Best of luck.
NOT HERE IN MARYLAND ITS ALWAYS ABOUT THE LANDLORD. WE ARE LOOKING TO SUE OUR LANDLORD (CORPORATION) DUE TO UNFAIR WATER PRACTICES AND OTHER ISSUES WE HAVE ENDURED IN 2 YEARS AND NOBODY WANTS TO TALK TO US. THEY DEAL W/ LANDLORD/TENANT NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Its not always about the landlord. When we had to evict our tenant due to the sanitary conditions she left the house, we did get her out. I had proof from photos, town insepction reports and recepits.
She left 5 weeks after receiving the first letter saying we were going to evict her.
I'd give a call to animal control and get them out there asap. That can't be good conditions for the animals. Make sure you get a copy of whatever report they make too. You're going to need it.
NOT HERE IN MARYLAND ITS ALWAYS ABOUT THE LANDLORD. WE ARE LOOKING TO SUE OUR LANDLORD (CORPORATION) DUE TO UNFAIR WATER PRACTICES AND OTHER ISSUES WE HAVE ENDURED IN 2 YEARS AND NOBODY WANTS TO TALK TO US. THEY DEAL W/ LANDLORD/TENANT NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Who doesn't want to talk to you?
If its Lawyers, its because they assume you don't have money.
If its the courts, then I don't know what to say, but I have yet to see a court that is going to automatically favor the landlord over the tenant. If they have a good reason to favor the landlord, they will.
What I am saying is that its the landlord's responsibility to prove the breach of contract, and show that in court. NOT the tenant's, and so the landlord needs to do a really good job of showing that, so that the court agrees with them.
We've had to evict people, and the easiest way, (its still not easy) is making sure everything is solidly in writing, you have delivery receipts, and that you fill out the right forms by the right time in the right way.
I'm not trying to say a landlord CANT get a tenant out, or that tenants always win fights against landlords, I'm saying its the agrieved party's duty to show the agrievement, and generally when it comes to landlord/tenant issues, the tenant is going to have an easier time proving it to a court than the landlord.
If its Lawyers, its because they assume you don't have money.
If its the courts, then I don't know what to say, but I have yet to see a court that is going to automatically favor the landlord over the tenant. If they have a good reason to favor the landlord, they will.
What I am saying is that its the landlord's responsibility to prove the breach of contract, and show that in court. NOT the tenant's, and so the landlord needs to do a really good job of showing that, so that the court agrees with them.
We've had to evict people, and the easiest way, (its still not easy) is making sure everything is solidly in writing, you have delivery receipts, and that you fill out the right forms by the right time in the right way.
I'm not trying to say a landlord CANT get a tenant out, or that tenants always win fights against landlords, I'm saying its the agrieved party's duty to show the agrievement, and generally when it comes to landlord/tenant issues, the tenant is going to have an easier time proving it to a court than the landlord.
It's not that I'm going up against an individual..I'm going up against a major corporation. It's the lawyers I have called in regards to this and as soon as I say landlord/tenant they say oh I'm sorry we only represent landlords. Maryland suks I'm telling you when it comes to helping people bringing cases against landlords unless you live in Baltimore city.
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