My Property was accused of being overcrowded

Irelandspro

I have a rental property which is currently leased to tenants.
A neighbor has informed me that the property is overcrowded and that there are a much higher number of people living in the property ( 12 instaed of 2 ) than i had assigned the lease to.

How do I confirm that this is going on. Any time i have called to the property I have always given plenty of notice and not noticed anything strange however I wonder If i were to inspect the property unannounced they would be more a chance to see the reality of the situation ( ie they wouldnt know i was comming and wouldnt ask people to hide or leave the property for an hour) But I am aware that I must give notice and can't just barge in on someones personal space.

In your opinion whats the best way to find out if there are extra people living in the property. And if there is extra people there what would be the best way to deal with the matter ?

:-)

eeguy

Maybe you should park nearby some morning and see how many people are about?

Irelandspro

Its an apartment with a communal entrance :-(

Rackstar

Jaysus 12 in an apartment

Ken.

Tell the neighbour to prove it and then you'll take action. Tell her your hands are tied by the residential tenancy act and you can't just turn up.

zagmund

How "communal"? Is it a question of 4 households sharing an entrance or 40? If it's a small number you can still get an idea of the overall numbers coming & going, especially if the neighbour who contacted you could identify people who live in other apartments.

If there really are 12 then there must be some sort of evidence when you do visit - they can't easily hide away 10 mattresses.

If you are officially in touch with the neighbour who complained then drop over for a cup of tea to his/her place some day and have a look at the comings & goings. You could even be out in the hall near your property, just talking to the neighbour . . .

z

zagmund

ken wrote: »

Tell the neighbour to prove it and then you'll take action. Tell her your hands are tied by the residential tenancy act and you can't just turn up.

Maybe the landlord has an interest in ensuring that their property is being used according to the terms of the lease. It's not just a nosey neighbour problem.

z

Irelandspro

apparently so :-0

Although this neighbor made the allegation after I asked them to keep their music down on request of my tenants. So I'ts quite possible there is no truth in it But I'd like to investigate it nonetheless.

lulu1

I dont know the rules about renting but if a complaint was made you will have to follow it up I think I would call in unannounced

Uncle Ben

ken wrote: »

Tell the neighbour to prove it and then you'll take action. Tell her your hands are tied by the residential tenancy act and you can't just turn up.

What if they thrash the place on him? Plenty of property down here in the west with bathroom fittings, copper, doors and windows being smashed etc. Owners probably in debt and burying the head while the neighbours have to put up with it.
It's your property check it out.

Irelandspro

zagmund wrote: »

How "communal"? Is it a question of 4 households sharing an entrance or 40? If it's a small number you can still get an idea of the overall numbers coming & going, especially if the neighbour who contacted you could identify people who live in other apartments.

If there really are 12 then there must be some sort of evidence when you do visit - they can't easily hide away 10 mattresses.

If you are officially in touch with the neighbour who complained then drop over for a cup of tea to his/her place some day and have a look at the comings & goings. You could even be out in the hall near your property, just talking to the neighbour . . .

z

The neighbor is troublesome and difficult to deal with / antisocial. I don't think tea with them would be an option

Its a small shared communal area there is just the two apartments share the communal area/door but basically it would be very obvious if i was to park nearby as the apartment is in a small cull de sac type of place and the windows would overlook the nly area I could see the apartment from .

Irelandspro

zagmund wrote: »

Maybe the landlord has an interest in ensuring that their property is being used according to the terms of the lease. It's not just a nosey neighbour problem.

z

Yes I would like the issue addressed. I dont want excessive wear and tear on the property as it was extensively renovated immediately prior to this letting. Also I dont want any of the other neighbors becoming disturbed if anything is going on.

Ken.

I was trying to give the tenant's the benefit of the doubt cause 12 sounds like a lot for a 4 bedroom house never mind a flat.

hfallada

OP you can lose your insurance due to the fact there is 12 in the apartment. AFAIK most basic landlord insurances are only covered up to 8 tenants. Meaning you mightnt be covered if there was a fire tomorrow. If they are there less than 6 months, you can evict without reason.

You arent allowed to enter an apartment unexpected without an emergency like a smell of gas or a leak from the apartment.

Irelandspro

hfallada wrote: »

OP you can lose your insurance due to the fact there is 12 in the apartment. AFAIK most basic landlord insurances are only covered up to 8 tenants. Meaning you mightnt be covered if there was a fire tomorrow. If they are there less than 6 months, you can evict without reason.

You arent allowed to enter an apartment unexpected without an emergency like a smell of gas or a leak from the apartment.

Yes they are there for less than 6 months.

I can ask them to leave without reason ?
How much notice would I have to give them etc.

The flat is suitable for 4 adults and there is currently a couple with a child living there , They have had family( 2 people) visit from abroad and stay a few days which I have no problem with

Irelandspro

UPDATE: I just received a text from another neighbor saying that there is no over crowding and that the the couple in my apartment are very nice. That the only issue in the complex is with the neighbor who made the accusation and that few neighbours have had problem with said person.

Sigh of relief Thank god.

HFALLADA if you could please let me know where I stand regarding eviction within 6 Months as this might become useful some other time.

Many Thanks.

Ken.

Woo-hoo I picked the right side. I take my apologies in chocolate.

hfallada

Irelandspro wrote: »

UPDATE: I just received a text from another neighbor saying that there is no over crowding and that the the couple in my apartment are very nice. That the only issue in the complex is with the neighbor who made the accusation and that few neighbours have had problem with said person.

Sigh of relief Thank god.

HFALLADA if you could please let me know where I stand regarding eviction within 6 Months as this might become useful some other time.

Many Thanks.

You just give them 30 days notice to quit in writing. You dont have to state why you are terminating the tenancy as its under 6 months. I know this sounds back, but if there is any serious issues with tenants, evict them within the 6 months. They dont have much legal rights(they do after 6 months though). So if someone is serious issues within 6 months, evict them

Some might think its unfair. But I have spoke to LLs, who have several hundred tenants between them at anyone time. One thing they all agree, if a tenant is trouble from the start. 98% of the time, they are trouble until they move out. If they are constantly having parties and late with rent. They will pretty much be the same for the remainder of the tenancy. Its only those 6 months, that you evict them easily. Its extremely rare to have a tenant redeem themselves and not be hassle.

Dr_Bill

Your neighbour could be the issue, it is not uncommon for owner-occupiers to take issue against rental properties, keep a record as you may well need to refer to the information at a later date when the letters come flying though the door from the management company. I have had some personal experience of this for years with a rental property which was attributed to one neighbour in the apartment block who had a tendency to complain at just about everything.

Chemical Byrne

Irelandspro wrote: »

Its an apartment with a communal entrance :-(

Could you not just go there at say 7.30 - 8.30 in the morning or in the vening when most people are moving around and either loiter around the corridors spying who's going in or out? Or maybe stay outside and look up to see if there's a lot of activity through the windows. If there's 12 people there as opposed to 2 it should be fairly evident.

petes

Chemical Byrne wrote: »

Could you not just go there at say 7.30 - 8.30 in the morning or in the vening when most people are moving around and either loiter around the corridors spying who's going in or out? Or maybe stay outside and look up to see if there's a lot of activity through the windows. If there's 12 people there as opposed to 2 it should be fairly evident.

Did you read any of the thread?

The_Conductor

As the OP has confirmed the complaint is spurious- closing thread.