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What to do if Your Tenant is Subletting

Frustrated Hoover Property Manager with a LaptopAs a rental property owner, your livelihood is dependent on the kind of Hoover rental property tenants you’ve carefully screened; you have to be able to trust your renters. Because of this, it can be problematic when a tenant sublets the rental house, especially without your knowledge or permission. Setting the terms of your tenant’s stay in your rental home starts with clear language in the lease. If the subletting policy has already been articulated well and still your tenant violates it, here are some of the things you can do to handle the situation.

Gather Evidence

If you have doubts that your tenant is subletting your property without permission, your first step should be to confirm your suspicions. It is possible that the new “tenant” is not subletting, but only house-sitting the property for some reason. Interviewing both tenants can be a great starting point. You can use this to document what they both have to say and gather more evidence so that you can reach an informed conclusion as to what is really going on.

You could also talk to your neighbors. This will allow you to gather more information so that you see a clearer picture of the situation. If the case is that this tenant is using something like Airbnb to sublet your rental, you can simply look up your property on the app and use that as evidence of the lease violation.

Give Notice of Lease Violation

If your research does lead to the confirmation of a tenant subletting, even when the lease clearly articulates against it, then your next best move is to inform the tenant that they violated the lease. If in the course of your research you stumble upon other violations made by the tenant who is subletting, make it a point to include all of them so that you can build a strong case against the violation of the lease terms.

It doesn’t matter who is living in the rental and if they’re in agreement with your tenant — it is still your tenant who has the sole responsibility of upholding the lease agreement. Typically, in these cases, a tenant would be given enough time to rectify the situation in order to gain compliance with their lease. After which, you should make a follow-up so you can know for sure if the subletting tenant is gone or not.

Take Legal Action, If Needed

Should it be that your tenant still refuses to submit the request to have the subletting person removed from the property, you might need to consider beginning the eviction process. Double-check with your state and local laws and follow them all — the statutes and rules — exactly as stated.

When you have a subletting tenant, things can become very complicated; so, you want to know what your rights are and how you can legally remove a subletting tenant without compromising yourself. It may depend on where you are at, but in certain areas, you have to evict both tenant and subletting tenant in order for you to get full rights and access to your rental property.

Your legal recourse will heavily depend on where your property is located, and what language is used in your lease. If your lease is not explicit and clear about the policy of subletting, it would be best for you to fix that right away. The best course of action is stopping it before it happens when it comes to preventing subletting.

 

If you are facing difficulties with a subletting tenant right now, you should talk to someone who can help. The property management professionals at Real Property Management Victory have the experience and legal knowledge to guide you through any lease violation situation, getting you back to business as usual and as painlessly as possible. Learn more about what we can do for property owners like you by contacting us online or calling us at 205-793-0700.

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