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June 17, 2009
My Tenants are Slobs!!
My tenant and her partner are complete slobs. Should I tell them that they need to clean it up? If so, how should I approach the situation?
Comments
Well this should be fun.
Let's distinguish between different aspects of the question. You certainly can and should set and enforce guidelines for public spaces. So if you mean they leave trash in the hall or track mud through the foyer, it seems fairly straight forward to ask them to shape up.
But if your complaint is about private spaces they have rented, it seems that your influence is and should be less. It is certainly no business of yours if they leave their clothes on the floor or don't rest their glasses on coasters when they place them on their own furniture.
If you are speaking of conditions which rise the level of a health hazard then perhaps you could have a word with them, but don't expect a favorable reaction. Trash piling up inside the apartment may impact on the lives of others through smells and attracting vermin. It certainly seems reasonable to ask them to take it out.
I guess it would be helpful if you elaborated on what the problem is.
I have a very messy tenant - when I have been in his place to make repairs I marvel at the ability of some people to live like pigs. But he has made great efforts to neaten it up for my showings of the apartment.
Posted by: Putnamdenizen at June 16, 2009 4:08 PM
i had a landlord who was super-bitchy about keeping the kitchen clean. she was crazy about leaving dishes in the sink, saying that it attracted bugs and whatever.
One day, we needed to get into her apt to install cable (or a phone line or whatever), and we caught her on the way out. Lo and behold, her sink was full of dirty dishes. she even had a dishwasher.
I paused and stared at the sink for 5 seconds to make sure she knew that i knew. i never heard anything after that. On a related note, she was a crazy neurotic bitch.
Posted by: slick at June 16, 2009 10:36 PM
all you did is say they are slobs. No description of how you mean this. How does this effect you or others?
On face of it makes you sound like a 'controling' person.
Posted by: Petebklyn at June 17, 2009 9:51 AM
I really don't think it's ur business. They rent from u and for that time period that they are renting it is their place not urs. If they do something to damage the apartment or anything like that then of course u are within ur right but if it's that they are messy.. who are u to say anything to them about it. I am a landlord and I would NEVER even approach my tenant about anything like that. The last time someone approached me about my room not being clean .. I was in HS and that person (my parents) were paying all the bills so they were entitled to say something. This is not the same situation.
Posted by: scarter at June 17, 2009 9:51 AM
Oh yes and I agree with : Putnamdenizen .. public spaces is a totally different story..
Posted by: scarter at June 17, 2009 9:52 AM
That's what you get for buying a place in Williamsburg. :)
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 17, 2009 9:56 AM
Call me crazy - but i think the fact they pay you rent gives them the right to live how they wish.
Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 17, 2009 9:57 AM
Not so, dh. If their filthy habits are the cause for a vermin infestation then something needs to be done. That said, all you can do is give them a written reminder. If the issue causes longer term problems then you are free to deduct it from their security for pest control expenses.
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at June 17, 2009 10:03 AM
Dave - I agree. If their cleaning habits are causing vermin then maybe the OP has a leg to stand on. That isn't the case and I assume if it was it would have been mentioned.
If not, sounds like a nosy controlling landlord.
Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 17, 2009 10:14 AM
there should be an *if* in there for *IF* that isn't the case.
Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 17, 2009 10:16 AM
note to self - scratch DH off list of prospective tenants for rental (ie he doesn't like controlling & nosey landlord)
Posted by: more4less at June 17, 2009 10:24 AM
"note to self - scratch DH off list of prospective tenants for rental "
My landlord loves me - I'm a model tenant. I have maid's service come in bi-monthly and in between i'm picking up after my slob of a roommate. I help my elderly upstairs neighbor carry her groceries up and I help my neighbor with the gardening she does around the pathetic tree infront of her house.
and in return he gives me respect by leaving me the EFF alone.
Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 17, 2009 10:30 AM
on second thought, restore DH onto the list - that helping elderly neighbor with groceries could be super attractive to my fellow tenants.
Posted by: more4less at June 17, 2009 10:34 AM
I'm not elderly and have no need for assistance, but I'd love someone to carry my groceries up to my apartment. Anyone want to do that for me?
Posted by: tybur6 at June 17, 2009 11:14 AM
Tybur - are you a hot chick?
Posted by: dirty_hipster at June 17, 2009 11:17 AM
tyburg- are you a cute guy? :-)
Posted by: bxgrl at June 17, 2009 12:10 PM
u said your tenant and her 'partner'. every lesbian ive ever known keeps dirty house. next time rent o gay men. seriously!
*rob*
Posted by: PitbullNYC at June 17, 2009 1:28 PM
messy doesn't mean unclean(ask Felix Unger)....I would like to know what you mean by messy.
as a resident adviser at college with some off campus residence responsibility....we always had more messy men's dorms but the off campus problems on cleanliness seemed to be female related....
if the messy means a problem that brings vermin than of course it becomes your problem to. Is the apartment rent regulated or not? If not and you don't like them for any reason except one prohibited by statute- throw them out when the lease is up and if its not returned broom clean charge them for it.
Posted by: smeyer418 at June 17, 2009 1:35 PM
I have no problem with messy. Messy is piles of clothes on the floor, mountains of books, unmade beds and clutter. The important thing is that it gets regularly cleaned up and the place doesn't get dirty, i.e. kitchen and bathroom unclean and rotting garbage or animal grossness. And that clutter doesn't spill out into the hall. I have a wonderful tenant whose place looks lovely for company and which looks like a bomb hit it sometimes (when I need to get in there on an emergency basis), but her place is clean. Often messy but clean. She is busy and I am not the housekeeping police. I had one tenant who had foul habits and her place was dirty and yes, there were animals and old garbage and now she is gone. Bye.
Posted by: donatella at June 18, 2009 1:12 PM
Hey Faithful, completely off topic: What's going on with Beer? I'm worried about him, he hasn't returned my calls for a few days, and before that he stopped by and he complained about high blood pressure. I hope he's ok. Can you email me at
yury at thynkdesign dot com ?
Posted by: Sputnik13 at June 24, 2009 4:48 PM
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