HOW CAN A PROPERTY OWNER PROVE THAT SOMEONE IS OCCUPYING A RENTAL PROPERTY ILLEGALLY?

Question:  I have leased my property to two female tenants. The lease that I had them sign clearly states that the apartment is for only two occupants.  The problem is that one of the tenants has a boyfriend who has spent the night there every night for the past three weeks. This is not fair to the other female tenant, and it is against the rental agreement. Is there a way for me to determine legally that the boyfriend is an occupant of the apartment?

Answer:  This is one of the benefits of hiring a property management company (PMC) to deal with such situations professionally. Unless the female tenant admits to having her boyfriend staying there, the PMC would gather circumstantial evidence that would stand up in a court of law (i.e., “trier of fact”).  This evidence could be such things as verifying that the boyfriend is coming to and from work on a daily basis from the apartment (utilizing photos, neighbors’ observations, etc.); he is receiving his mail there; he is spending the weekends there; or he is perhaps taking other tenants’ parking places.  All of these pieces of evidence would lead a “trier of fact” to decide that the boyfriend is occupying the apartment which is against the lease agreement.  As you might imagine, we get a lot of property management related questions.  We provide property management services in Carlsbad and North County San Diego.  We are members of professional property management associations so if you ever have a question about being a landlord please don't hesitate to contact us.  We have access to property management legal hotlines.  We will be happy to answer your question even if we are not managing your property.

 

 

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