Tenants Rights after Staying in A Property for 5 Years

So I have this investment house and have a really good tenant.
He pays on time etc and fixes the small things himself.
This year will be 5 years that he will be staying there.
Is there something I should know about his rights as being a tenant for 5 years or more?

I was under the impression that once he stayed there for 5 years or more,irrespective of the damage etc he may cause,i would have to cop it.

Any help would be welcomed.

Thanks

Comments

  • +20

    Speaking as a lawyer, from a legal standpoint, possession is 9/10ths of the law.

    I believe the house is now his.

    • So therefore, any damaged caused is now the tenants problem.

    • Wow! I now own my own home. Thanks! This is the best news ever. I'm gonna go diss my landlord. I am winner

  • +3

    The only extra "right" he might have is some respect from you for being a good tenant and being able to stay that long without causing you much trouble.

    So take that into consideration when it comes time to think about jacking up the rent or anything - because a good tenant is not easy to come by.

  • Laws vary from state to state, but tenants have very few rights generally.

  • +2

    If a tenant destroys something they don't necessarily have to pay the full value of the replacement. For example, if you expect a stove to last for 10 years and the tenants destroy a 5 year old stove, they might only have to pay for half of a new replacement since you'd already used up half of the life of the stove.

    A lot of things like carpet and paint are often considered to last for about 5 years. So if your tenants have been there for 5 years and they ruin the carpet you might have to pay the whole cost of getting the carpet replaced. However, if they'd been there for 4 years you still would have had to pay for 4/5 of the cost of getting it replaced.

    A lot of landlords wouldn't replace things regularly and would try and force tenants to pay the full cost of replacing anything. Those are the guys who complain that once someone has lived there for x years they can ruin anything.

  • +6

    I think you are confusing your tenant issue with marriage. After 5 years of marriage you get screwed but never any sex.

    • ^ this

    • Women getting regular orgasms aren't holding out on sex. Just sayin!

Login or Join to leave a comment