In order to make a good livelihood out of your Sandy Springs rental property, your job as a rental property owner is to make sure that you screen your tenants well so that you can trust them with your property. Hence, it’s not a surprise when it gets problematic to deal with tenants who sublet the house 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 your tenant violates the subletting policy even when it’s already been stated clearly, here are some of the ways you can handle that situation.
Gather Evidence
If you have reason to believe that your tenant might be subletting your property without permission, your first step should be to confirm your suspicions. It could be that the new “tenant” isn’t necessarily subletting, but house-sitting the property for some reason. It would be a wise idea to interview both tenants so that you can document their responses. This will allow you to gather evidence and use whatever you’ve gathered to make an informed conclusion and decision.
Neighbors might be a great source of information, as well. You can ask them so that you can get a better grasp 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 the research confirms that the tenant is indeed subletting despite the lease being clear about it, then you have to notify your tenant that they violated the lease. Should your research shed light on other violations, make sure to bring them up; especially if the tenant who is subletting is not following the lease terms.
Whether it’s someone else living in the rental or not, whatever agreement they may have with your tenant, it is still your tenant who has sole responsibility for upholding the lease agreement. When in circumstances like this, a tenant may be given some time to correct the situation in order to reach compliance with their lease. Be sure to follow up when the time has passed, so that you can verify whether or not the subletting tenant has gone.
Take Legal Action, If Needed
If the case is that your tenant does not want to follow through with the request to remove the person subletting the property, you can begin the eviction process. Don’t forget to comb through your state and local laws so that you can obey the statutes and rules of the letter.
As if it’s not difficult enough to handle a subletting tenant, you also have to consider what your rights are, and how you can legally handle the subletting tenant without breaking any laws. It may differ from place to place, but in order for you to gain full rights and access to your rental property, you might have to evict both the tenant and the subletting tenant.
Your legal recourse is contingent on the location of your property, and the language of the policies in your lease. If in any case, your lease does not clearly state the policy on subletting, you need to get on 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 Greenway have the experience and legal knowledge to guide you through any lease violation situations, getting you back to business as usual as quickly 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 770-364-9668.
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