Early Move-In
I agreed to pay a tenant's father an hourly rate to help get an apartment ready for her move-in date a few weeks later. The move-in date came the tenant asked to push the move-in date back a while which I agreed to. There was not a finilized signed lease because her fathers wages, yet to be determined, were to be taken off the rent. Several days later I found out that the tenant moved in without notifying me and without a signed lease (she used a key I gave her father for access). She is also asking huge fees for labor (not including materials) for work that she said she did to the house which I never agreed to, not including what I owe her father. I haven't responded to the situation at all since I am considering my options carefully. What are my best options here?
I would contact the tenant and state that you need to get the lease signed and taken care of and then you can talk about the labor that was completed. I would give her until the end of tomorrow to come by and sign a lease or meet her at the property. If she refuses I would then post a lease on her door with a 5-day notice (or whatever your laws are) to evict and start the process.
These are two seperate issues. The tenant may feel obligated because it was her father that did the work, but I would NOT negotiate with the tenant on the labor, only with the father. AND I would not knock it off the rent, but pay the father.
Global,
I agree with Dnv on this problem. With that said, Always keep rents and repairs seperate for this reason. Agree on a fee with whoever but always pay them and NEVER discount the rent.
Good luck and keep us posted,
Scott