Seeking advice in preparing a 'house rules' for rental property

[itsmyparty]

We'd love to sell a house we have, used the last 20 years by my m.i.l. -- but of course its impossible these days....so we're going to try renting it out. A property mgt. co. will be screening tenants for us...and have asked us to provide a 'house rules' list. Would really appreciate any advice, resources, etc. for doing this. Thanks in advance!

 

[old woman]

No pets or guest that say more than 14 days. No people not on the lease. They must mow the lawn so it is less than 5 inches tall. No old motorcycles and tires in the yard and only cars that run in the driveway, none on the grass. No remodeling or painting without your consent in writing with choice of color approval. No cutting the trees.

 

[calmloki]

Smoking.

 

[martyb]

No knocking down walls....

 

[akck]

Who is managing/maintaining the property? If it's you, then add the right to inspect the property at least twice during the year.

 

[Nuiloa]

Pet clean-up

Proof of home insurance

 

[l2ridehd]

No pets, no smoking ANY WHERE on the property, and any problem caused by the renters negligence is their responsibility. Radon and lead paint not your problem, even if it was built last week. 15 days for inspection before security deposit refund. All damage beyond normal wear is repaired and deducted from security deposit. Number of people who can occupy.

 

[Nords]

If you're in a community association then you should equip the tenants with a copy of the HOA rules on "neighborly conduct", car parking, pets, and so forth.

No pets or guest that say more than 14 days.

Geez the tenants you guys must've had.

We encourage pets in our rental home. The homeowner's association limits the size and number, and we just tell the tenants that any pet damage will be taken out of their security deposit.

Otherwise a tenant will have a pet anyway and will try to hide it from you.

It's amazing how quickly you get responses when you advertise "PET FRIENDLY!", and nobody minds that the carpet is getting a bit spotty...

 

[calmloki]

...
Geez the tenants you guys must've had.

We encourage pets in our rental home. The homeowner's association limits the size and number, and we just tell the tenants that any pet damage will be taken out of their security deposit.

Otherwise a tenant will have a pet anyway and will try to hide it from you.

It's amazing how quickly you get responses when you advertise "PET FRIENDLY!", and nobody minds that the carpet is getting a bit spotty...

This week we'll be replacing a carpet and pad in an apartment that was installed 12/07 - an authorized cat did it ill. And that is after paying to have the carpet patched thanks to a prior tenants unauthorized dog eating/clawing up the edges. I think it isn't too much to ask that a carpet last five years... no, the deposits did not cover the damage. Carpet/pad/installation will run about $1000 - it's a very small place.

 

[arebelspy]

This week we'll be replacing a carpet and pad in an apartment that was installed 12/07 - an authorized cat did it ill. And that is after paying to have the carpet patched thanks to a prior tenants unauthorized dog eating/clawing up the edges. I think it isn't too much to ask that a carpet last five years... no, the deposits did not cover the damage. Carpet/pad/installation will run about $1000 - it's a very small place.

You aren't going to charge them for the damage above and beyond whatever their pet deposit + regular security deposit didn't cover?

 

[Walt34]

If it was me renting out the house:

No pets
No smoking
No drinking
No drugs
No more than three vehicles, all licensed, insured and on all four tires, parked only in the driveway.
No tenants under the age of 50
No persons admitted under the age of 25, ever.
All tenants must be gainfully employed or independently wealthy.

Maybe that's why I don't own a rental house....

 

[tryan]

Radon and lead paint not your problem, even if it was built last week.

This will be illegal in many states. It's your house ... you have SOME liability. So get liability coverage ... it's cheap.

I've found the "rules" are useless with the wrong tenant. Go to the house they live in now. If you like what you see ... rent to them. Don't expect them to change because of your "rules".

 

[MichaelB]

We rented for many years in many different locations and were excellent tenants. We kept up the landscaping, were prompt in payments, and carried out minor repair without complaint. Without exception we returned a property in better condition than when we received it.

We expected a competitive rent and I always negotiated a discount. It was amazing what a few minutes of conversation with the owner could accomplish. Most states have pro-forma rental contracts, and we always used those. An owner with a unique multi-page contract and many restrictions was a warning sign for us. More than once we reached an agreement with a realtor but walked away once the paperwork was put on the table.

We also looked for pet friendly. That usually translated into owner friendly.

I think when you try too hard to weed out the bad tenants you also drive away the good ones.

 

[calmloki]

You aren't going to charge them for the damage above and beyond whatever their pet deposit + regular security deposit didn't cover?

Sending a bill is a far cry from collecting it.

 

[chemist]

It is not impossible to sell a house these days, only impossible to sell it for its 2006 value.

 

[Dancer373]

My rental agreement also says no holes in the walls, no swimming pool, change central a/c filter monthly. If you have a septic tank you can require them to put in septic treatment monthly (Ridex ) also.

 

[Sue J]

My son lives in an apartment complex that allows pets but there is a $25/month fee added to your rent. No additional security deposit, just the added rent.

 

[tryan]

I am trying to understand what recourse the owner thinks he has if these "rules" are broken. Security deposit ... ok. They'll stay a month later wo paying rent ... then move (hopefully).

Is an owner really going to incur 3-4 months rent loss and legal fees to evict a tenant over some broken rule. Good luck with that.

You turned a positive cashflow into a negative one over Fifi the cat. AND good luck getting a judge to put them out.

I sat in court while a judge refused to evict a family to facilitate the sale of a home. Posession is 9/10's of the law.

 

[itsmyparty]

Thanks all for your input. I've come up with a bunch of houserules...but am thinking of paring them down. None are out of line....but agree that too many may give the wrong impression to the right people!! I've been a renter as well in the past...and was good...but have had some experience as a landlord many years ago with a condo I rented out, and none of the renters were good....I was always left with a terrible mess and missing rent! We are 'animal lovers'....and as we all know its not the animals that are at fault, but the owners. We're going to try this with cat's only. Our main reason is not the damage that can be done by dogs...but we don't want the long term neighbors of the property bothered by barking dogs. Am always afraid too that complains will result in harm being done to the animals. Boy, this landlord stuff 'sucks' ... and we don't even have renters yet!! At the moment we're thinking we'll try it for a year and see how things go....then if its not working out too well...put it on the market and try to get rid of it.
Thanks again for all your input....I've incorporated alot of it.

 

[itsmyparty]

I am trying to understand what recourse the owner thinks he has if these "rules" are broken. Security deposit ... ok. They'll stay a month later wo paying rent ... then move (hopefully).

Is an owner really going to incur 3-4 months rent loss and legal fees to evict a tenant over some broken rule. Good luck with that.

You turned a positive cashflow into a negative one over Fifi the cat. AND good luck getting a judge to put them out.

I sat in court while a judge refused to evict a family to facilitate the sale of a home. Posession is 9/10's of the law.

I agree the whole situation is 'iffy'. The company that will do the tenant screening for us and who provide the rental agreement were the ones who said we should have house rules. Haven't yet seen the rental agreement (will do today)...but apparently it states in there and will in the house rules that a violation of house rules is a violation of the rental agreement and grounds for eviction. But...as you pointed out...nothing is that easy...nor if there's a 'breaking of some rule' can I say we'd want to get rid of a tenant. I guess its just to try to scare the bad ones into behaving...and we all know how well that works!!

 

[HpRyder]

I am trying to understand what recourse the owner thinks he has if these "rules" are broken. Security deposit ... ok. They'll stay a month later wo paying rent ... then move (hopefully).

Is an owner really going to incur 3-4 months rent loss and legal fees to evict a tenant over some broken rule. Good luck with that.

You turned a positive cashflow into a negative one over Fifi the cat. AND good luck getting a judge to put them out.

I sat in court while a judge refused to evict a family to facilitate the sale of a home. Posession is 9/10's of the law.

Use this and turn a broken rule into incomplete rent payment, then evict for non payment.
"Resident payments shall be applied in the following order to satisfy any prior (a) returned check charges, (b) late payment charges, (c) property damage costs, (d) property repair costs, (e) security deposit deficiencies, (f) legal fees and then (g) current months rent."

 

[Lisa99]

We'd love to sell a house we have, used the last 20 years by my m.i.l. -- but of course its impossible these days....so we're going to try renting it out. A property mgt. co. will be screening tenants for us...and have asked us to provide a 'house rules' list. Would really appreciate any advice, resources, etc. for doing this. Thanks in advance!

I find this question odd. Our property management company has a standard list of rules that apply to every property they manage (about 400 houses).

If every house they manage has different rules I would think it would be incredibly hard to keep up with.

You might ask them back what is THEIR standard list of rules.

 

[tryan]

Use this and turn a broken rule into incomplete rent payment, then evict for non payment.
"Resident payments shall be applied in the following order to satisfy any prior (a) returned check charges, (b) late payment charges, (c) property damage costs, (d) property repair costs, (e) security deposit deficiencies, (f) legal fees and then (g) current months rent."

That's the right angle ... but the eviction process is 3 months (in MA) and hundreds in legal fees (no lawyer). And don't ever move the tenant (3K minimum).

My guess is the management company triing to tell the OP "you're in charge". It might "feel good" ... but good luck enforcing the rules. The police don't want to hear it .... tenants have rights too.

 

[HpRyder]

Sometimes the cash-for-keys approach works with non-professional tenants.
Also do some homework / searches on bbs2 mrlandlord com site area specific to MA. Its an active landlord site with area specific landlords bloging in the question & ans section about solutions to their area specific problems.

 

[calmloki]

Been emailing my manager today regarding a deposit check we mailed that was returned and just got a kick out of the exchanges:

From: xx
Subject: Re:
To: calmloki

No Alex was the lesbian roller derby girl.

To: xx
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 3:52 PM
Weird - I show the check made out to Roberta Mxxxr, Hitlist shows Robin Mxxxr as the tenant in Mill #4 for several months prior to March 2011. Check #1305 - No biggy - I've voided the check so it won't keep popping up when we try and reconcile the account. Hey - was Alex the scumdog who ended up in a California prison? That would maybe account for him not cashing his check - poor little fella.

Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:22:09 -0700
From: xx
Subject: Re:
To: calmloki

The voided check was for Alex Gxx from Mill #4. I can get the check number tonight once I am home.



From: xcalmlokx
To: xx
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 1:48 PM
Subject:

Possible cleaners. Call Bill & Dxx Nxx, mention our names so they associate you with the cleaner request (talked with them last night about cleaners). They have a daughter, Franque (how about Frankie - some people!) who is out of work and hungry for work and they know a lady right across the street from them on 3rd here in town who is working cleaning a house for sale right now. They need to know how they get paid and the amount - didn't get into that. Dxx indicated that carpet shampooing was no issue, but we'll see. Bill & Dxx do have rentals, so that is a good thing. 503xxxxxxx


Cleaning checklist attached.

Front #1 outgoing tenant Kxxx Jxxxx mailing address:
xxxth st.
Corvallis Ore.
97330