Topic: Tell me how you deal with someone who signs a lease then comes to you and says the apartment has fleas and wants out.

Tell me how you deal with someone who signs a lease then comes to you and says the apartment has fleas and wants out. It has never had fleas and has new carpet and paint.
Offering another apartment is an option but this person is using fleas as a smokescreen and wants out I plan on treating it like a lease break. How do you handle it?

Customer Service. Let them out, one bad review isn’t worth trying to stick it to them. My company offers a 30 day, no fault guarantee which allows someone to move out within the first 30 days if there is any issue with the apartment.

Do you keep first months rent

Teresa Swift yes, any rent paid is not refunded, only the deposit if they paid a refundable one.

Have they not moved in yet? I doubt we would let them just move out without repercussions. We have good documentation and do thorough inspections so we know if there were no issues at move in then the odds are likely the tenant brought them. I don't feel it's grounds to break a lease unless they haven't moved in, but would forfeit their deposit as per the agreement? I think offering to treat the fleas at no charge first (or inspect to verify they have them? would be a good start.

They just signed lease and did not move in yet but paid first months rent. We also document thoroughly

Lease break

Leave it in corporates hands

Call pest control company to inspect and verify they have them. Do they have animals? Could have be brought in by them....

Teresa Swift hmmmm.... I would call pest control and see if they can give you some idea where they came from

Pest company for inspection and treatment then lease break.

You bring in your pest control to confirm. If not full of bugs it’s a lease break.

Confused, isn't it in the lease that you will exterminate issue and therefore, if you take care of the issue, they can't just move. Did they even move in?

The apartment had no pest

Could it be possible that the previous residents had an unauthorized dog and as we know when the new eggs hatch (yes around baseboards etc) the new fleas infest the new carpet. Happens a lot more than you think. However, I would call pest control to verify, then if valid try to use some good ole customer service to convince them to stay and if not, let them go.... But I wouldn’t refund much, as you have had to pay for vacancy etc. Try to come to an amicable end.

Oh and I know how to combat fleas within a total 24 hours if u need advice!

Being on the other side. I moved into a place this year and was getting eaten alive (my other family members had barely nothing). I finally caught one to confirm. I'm allergic to cats and dogs. My management company tried to fight me on this as the previous tenant "had no animals" EXCEPT I walked the home with the previous tenant still there and took pictures with his cat just sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I sent that to management and they eradicated them. Long story short your new tenant may not be lying to get out of a lease but let me tell you living in a home with fleas is MISERABLE.

I agree w you and I always try to keep an open mind

Exactly. Don’t give an inch.

My first thought is to offer to have a pest control company come out to confirm the presence of fleas, and treat if necessary. From there, I would handle it on a case by case basis depending on the circumstances. If they won’t allow the treatment, they just want out, my gut says they are just trying to get out of lease and not pay penalties so I would charge a lease break. But like someone said earlier, a bad review might not be worth it. If they haven’t moved in, there really won’t be much turn around time and if you’re in a good market, you have a rent ready unit to market. If you think you can rent immediately, just let them out with rent paid and don’t bother with the hassle of bad residents.

U don’t need to hire a pest person; we have ended a flea infestation by setting off bombs. They eat me alive so I feel sorry for whoever is getting bit!!

If you offer for them to transfer and they decline , I would charge them to break the lease! They have to give you a chance to rectify the situation...

I am having pest control come out to check unit. If there is fleas I will treat and allow them to go somewhere else. If not, I will still allow them to leave because forcing someone to stay will just leave a bad taste

True... and bad reviews unfortunately

I would contact pest control. Lease breaks are a last resort & only if it’s stipulated. My leases here only allow someone to find another person to take over their lease. Only other way out is if they die.

Pest inspection, treatment and then lease break if it gets to that.

Let them go. Someone happy to be there will come along and be a much better fit!!! We have a move in guarantee and it works for us each time!

I let them out if they say they don't want it within 48 hours but they loose all money... Not worth dealing with them for a year if they don't take the break lease... Write up something saying if you find fleas after they leave they have to pay for treatment since new carpet and no fleas prior to

Lease break. That’s a very treatable issue if it exists.

I don't know. Never occupied, I'd talk with legal. Different states, different rules

Fleas are a dormant pest. Eggs could have been in the tack strip and just hatched. If padding wasnt replaced there goes your other issue. Just keep a good control plan with your exterminator and records. This will avoid the lease break. If they continue insisting then yes at that point, as long as you were on top of the situation, they are breaking their lease and should be chatged a fee. Because after all, you did everything possible to address the issue

Thank you all for the good advice. We kept the move in fee and allowed them to walk away. I did have pest control come out, no fleas but with that being said, customer service is everything and sometimes you have to make strong decisions. I love this site and how helpful everyone is in those gray areas!

Glad you let them out.
Can you imagine the future headaches this tenant would cause?

The money you receive from someone to hold an apartment should be considered a non-refundable deposit until they actually move in. Then afterwards, it can be applied to the first months rent. When you receive that non-refundable deposit, it should be strongly worded as a "non-refundable deposit" and never be considered or be referred to as "rent". Otherwise the tenant has recourse.

I know this is hindsight but wanted to share how I handle that process.

If a person wants to break a lease using fleas as a smokescreen charge them for doing so based on the terms of the lease so if he owes under the said terms let him pay and give you the requisite balances owing under the lease. Then also note to let him know that he has to pay the outstanding terms plus any fees your country may have for VAT & TAXES.

I have a problem where I have tenants who refuse to leave who have been refusing to leave for the past two months every time they have to leave and they refuse to pay and want to use funds like last month rent and security deposit to now be squatters. Also when and if we go to court they will try and say they cannot find a place and seek to try and continue rob me out of much needed income which I have not received from July from them. We had waived rent for August to pay them for contractual painting done by them in another unit which was wrong for us to get them used to do. Now the lady seeks to control so we told her to go from July 26th, 2018 and she then used her last month rent and now she is trying to use her security deposit and not leave the premises but seeks to torment us with loss of rent when she has her Mum five minutes away. It is not our fault she cannot find a place if that is indeed true why should we suffer loss of income from October to now well from September but she claimed that was her last month but refuses to leave and she is very troublesome and controlling. Our laws need to change. It is too protenant.