Illegal Occupants

I have a resident that I've talked to about this issue before. She has a son with a self-admitted violent criminal past that would not allow him to be added to the lease by meeting our criteria. She told me that he had an apt some other place and would be staying there full time. I didn't believe it when she said it but gave her the benefit of a doubt. Tonight around 11 pm he came out of the apartment and his car has been parked in the parking lot for weeks on end. I don't know whats going on but I'm not trying to be nice about the situation anymore. She has already signed her lease to transfer to another apt on site. How can I prove he's living there to where it will uphold in court? I've never done inspections like that before and my manager wasn't much help when I inquired abt this.

This is always a tough one. Are you friendly with the mail carrier? Ask them if he's getting mail there. If so go to the monther and tell her you know he is establishing this as his residence and her lease and especially abililty to transfer could be in jeopardy. I would watch guy like a hawk and at the first hint of trouble ban him from the sight.

If you definitely can tell that he is being seen at the house on a daily basis, you can make the assumption that he is living there. Whenever I see what appears to be an unathorized person living in the unit, I give the resident a 3 day notice to perform or quit. I quote the lease agreement where it states our regulations with unathorized residents, and tell them "Management has observed 'so and so' staying in your unit." Often, they will come and explain the situation. But usually, they will get frightenened of losing their lease and will kick the person out of the house, or ensure that they are not lingering in the unit as much. If after giving such notice, the resident continues to keep that unathorized person in the unit, then you can proceed and evict them. I would just make documentation of when they enter the house, and so on.

These are most interesting situations, aren't they? I am curious ... why would you need this to hold up in court? Are you thinking you need to evict this Resident? It should not come to that, I don't think.

What you can do is:
a. Talk to the mail carrier, but lately there is less consistency in carrier assignments and often there is not the same one. Besides mail carriers are not supposed to provide you with this information. (Although I have been known to follow the carrier to the box and peek at names as he/she places it in the box because they cannot "tell" you the information.
b. Mail something yourself to the unit in the name of the son. If it comes back as undeliverable, then there is your legal proof, probably a better option.
c. Declare an emergency in the unit (water leaking next door, need to check the unit) and go in to see if there is clear, visible evidence of the son's presence: clothing out, his shoes lined up by the door, toothbrush on the sink, shaving supplies. If there is, you send a letter to the mother letting her know you suspect her son is living there and that she needs to bring him to the Office to fill out an application immediately (but give a reasonable time frame of two days/48 hours if he is 18+ years old.
d. Once you have his Application, process it and see whether or not he is qualified.
e. Call the police and have them let you know if the car is legally registered and plated and inform the car's owner to move it NOW, within 24-hours or it will be towed. All Resident cars should be registered in your office. Have it towed after that period of no one complies with your request.
f. Let your Maintenance team, courtsey officers and polic department know you have suspicions about this person. However, I trespass people off properties all the time and have no qualms whatsoever about it. I would consider this if the young man personally told you he has a violent criminal past.

Regarding the Resident's transfer request: she has already signed her lease????

I like Mindy's option B, but I would do the following:

1) Mail a 3 day notice to cure to the resident, include a rental application for the 'illegal' resident.
2) Mail a rental application package to the 'illegal' resident via certified mail (signature required).

This gives the resident a way to make the 'illegal' resident legitimate. If the illegal occupant applies and is declined, then you have made it clear that you are aware of the situation and he is not welcome for more than MAYBE an overnight visit occasionally.

If the son is staying in the unit, I would go over there and require a background check and a local police check. If they hesitated, I would fill out a "Cease to Enter" on the son, until he complied with the checks. In my state, anyone on the property can be required to complete these checks if the landlord has suspicion of,
as said in the OP, "A violent criminal past". If this is true and there is a felony conviction on the son, you can continue to enforce the Cease to Enter.
I would also go in when the son was there, and with the lease with me. I would find out personally if his belongings were there as if living there, and ask "WHO ARE YOU"? Once he told me who he was, I would advise him to remove his personal items and not let me catch him remaining overnight, or the tenant would receive a first of three warnings.
In my state you can execute a Cease to Enter for cause. These are best served by a Deputy Sheriff, and filed with the circuit court.

I had this problem A LOT when I worked on Tax Credit properties. I came up with my "Visitor Policy" addendum and have all new move-ins and renewals sign it. The basics of it are in the lease, but I like having the addendum so I can go into detail. Everyone should have one of these because it outlines specifically how I determine if a visitor is now considered an occupant and what they have to do.

Any or all of the criteria below is used to determine if a guest has transitioned to a resident:

1. Guest is seen entering a unit using a key without the resident present.
2. Guest is seen checking the mailbox with a key without the resident present.
3. Guest is observed inside of the apartment without the resident present.
4. Guest is seen in the community more than 3 days per week consecutively.
5. Guest has a car that is parked in the community more than 3 days per week consecutively.
6. Guest receives mail or UPS delivery with their name on it.

Then I go into applying within 3 days of notification. I make sure they apply so I can get a background check. If the guest does not apply, resident is evicted for having an unauthorized occupant.

If they do apply and have a criminal background, they are both evicted if the guest doesn't move out.

I have a situation now where a resident married a guy who just got out of prison last year. I gave them the choice of filling out a 30-day notice to vacate or eviction proceedings.

I have used this form to evict several households. They usually don't kick out the person staying with them.

At one tax credit property, the boyfriend did not live there...he was a "babysitter."

I had 4 households with "babysitters."

The form took care of that one, too.

The problem sometimes is establishing the difference between a 'guest' and an 'illegal occupant'; whether you are a conventional or affordable property.

Unfortunately this is only going to be getting worse. People out there are desperate and homeless, and other adjectives.

We have a young man about 24 years old with about one half of a Master's degree. He, however, cannot cope with anything so that is why he dropped out of college. He also cannot hold any kind of job. His mother who spoon fed him all his life passed away. Now his grandmother (our tenant), has taken him into her unit to sleep on the couch of her one bedroom apartment. The grandmother knows this will not fly and has even been in our office in tears. The kid is a space-a-matic (I made that word up), and is incapable of further movement. So, the grandmother is somewhat stuck with him for now. We worked a deal for 30 more days in the unit, and then he has to go.

The good thing on this is that the grandmother came right up front with us. She bared the whole deal and we are working with her. She is an excellent tenant and is searching for a solution with my wife's assistance. However it could be reversed, and the tenant could be trying to cover up a deal of this nature.

Unemployment is going to get worse and worse and relatives and brothers in law are going to try and couch up a few weeks. This is only going to get worse.

I would recommend making illegal occupants a serious offense to your tenants and then you will probably be better off, them knowing it could be the kiss of eviction.

Its the signs of the times--it really is.

Great stuff guys! I really appreciate it. The resident ended up calling my manager saying that her son was just visiting to help take car of her because she's got a slew of health conditions. My manager was put in a position where it was like "he said, she said". All in all, I'm just going to drop it to save myself the headache but it's not fair to anyone. I have five apartments that I need to rent and have had people submit apps and are denied because of their background. I feel if we let anyone get by with an excuse, it has to be done across the board....I'd be 100% occupied by now!

If the resident is having health challenges; then you and your manager need to enter into a discussion about a reasonable accomodation to have a live in caregiver. It needs to include a background check with a satisfactory result. You do not need to consider the income or the credit history of the selected individual (in affordable properties, the caregiver's income is specifically exempt as it does not contribute to the household); but you can disqualify a caregiver request if the person has a criminal background that includes some misdemeanors, but at a minimum, you need to make sure a wide array of felonies are included such as:

-Violent crime
-Domestic abuse
-Sex crime
-Theft
-Weapons charges
-Drug sale/manufacture

It sounds like the current guest would not qualify under these conditions, but give the resident a way to select someone else.

Brianna, I am not sure where you are living but here in Florida, if you are a "live-in caregiver" your income is not counted but we do have to do a background check on you. Your manager should be aware of this policy if it is applicable.

If you are running an affordable property and a resident is requesting a live in caregiver under the reasonable accommodations rules; that caregiver's income is specifically exempt from the equation as it does not contribute to the household (and may actually be an expense if the resident's insurance does not cover it). You CAN run a credit/eviction/criminal background check as if this person is applying as a regular resident, but only consider results from the criminal check. Always, I repeat; ALWAYS run a criminal check and if a potential match is found, request an identity verification to make sure the results match your applicant.

You can increase favorable results by having the resident not choose a family member, or locate a potential candidate through an agency that prescreens their people, not only for criminal background; but also drug use, other health issues, and educational histories (to ensure the candidate knows how to do the job and not potentially transmit diseases to others). Regardless of the candidate's prescreening status; you need to be able to document that you ran one of your own.

If you do not have an established policy for live in caregivers; you need to contact your attorney for assistance in creating one.