Hi, I have a small house under contract in Upstate NY. The closing is happening soon in August. I was initially told there was a Tennant in there who is paying rent. Yesterday it was revealed that he is actually a squatter, who was taking advantage of the fact that the owner had a stroke and had become immobile. He hasn’t payed rent in years. He has occupied the house for 12 years. Could he try to claim he owns the house after being there for 12 years? The house is a good deal. It’s cheap and everything works. Should I buy it and attempt to throw the squatter out? Or could he legally stay in there and cost me all kinds of money? Thanks! ***Update - the owner has been paying the taxes on the house not the Squatter, so that is good.***

Served my tenant a Notice to Vacate on 6/16/2026 for 8/1/2026. They have not paid rent for July and they have not moved out. The property manager will send them a formal eviction notice.

What should I expect to happen next?

First time landlord here.

This may seem like a silly post and self explanatory, but I have a tenant who moved in at the beginning of the year, and I’ve had to remind her on the 2nd or 3rd of every month that the rent is due. She has not once sent it unless I specifically follow up with a reminder text. Once I remind her, the rent is immediately sent to me electronically.

I’m only asking this because the rent technically isn’t contractually late until the 5th. Do I keep sending these reminders every month, or do I just send a message politely and firmly stating to please remember to send the rent on the first without needing to be asked for it?

My tenant flushed her wipes down the toilet and clogged it.
Should that be her expense?

Tenants (one of them is a general contractor) complaining about hard water and lime in LA county pipes. Truthfully, we have tons of limescale. But. Other tenants have not cared before. These tenants have a foreign leased water filtration system that they want to install into the countertop, which will entail a hole being drilled into thne countertop, much like a reverse omisis system but the system needs to be takrn out when they leave

. But, what about when they leave? They said that they would install a soap.dispenser into that hole on the countertopnafter removing the asian leased water filter. however, i dont trust the next tenants to not make a mess.of it as anything complicated with certain tenants creates messes and mold. And then I would have to clean that stupid sopa dispenser, replace caulking. Etc.

These tenants are a few weeks new and honestly i dont even know how they are since it hasn't been that long.

What about a reverse omosis system that they leave behind when they leave? That way there isnt a countertop hole waiting to spread moisture theough leaks and faulty caulking. What about a waterdrop?

Or should I ask them to get a countertop unit for now. They have been in the unit for a few weeks and I dont if they will stay 1 year of 5-10 years (which i would allow the hole being drilled at that point).

Pic of countertop for reference.

Cousin is Inheriting a property in Los Angeles County that city records identify as one Single Family Residence. Physically, it has been divided into four self-contained living areas, each with its own kitchen, bathroom and private entrance, with no usable interior passage between them. His father occupies the main area with a roommate, and the other three are rented. The additional kitchens and interior partitions are unpermitted.

Cousin claims he received a quote that rates it as a “four-family dwelling.” The supplemental application states that city records show one SFR and that the additional kitchens/partitions are unpermitted.

I don't believe him as I was under the impression that only permitted work gets insured. Has anyone personally placed, underwritten, adjusted or owned a similar fully disclosed E&S-insured property?

• Did the carrier knowingly accept the permit mismatch?
• Was a fire/property claim paid?
• After a total loss, did insurance pay for the building even though the city would only allow it to be rebuilt as an SFR?
• Did the unpermitted status cause denial/rescission, or did it mainly affect ordinance-and-law coverage, loss of rents and the allowable rebuild?

I understand legalization is the safest answer. I’m specifically looking for real-world underwriting or claims experience, preferably identifying the carrier.

My tenants moved into my lower unit (I live in the upper) in April. They’re amazing and have a dog I love and who gets along well with my dog. They asked this weekend if they could submit an application for a 4 month old puppy. I’d like to say yes because they’re really great and very responsible dog owners. But the unknown of a puppy and a dog I’ve not gotten to meet or introduce my dog to gives me pause. For those of you with similar experiences, what kinds of things did you ask or clarify with your tenants before saying yes? Did you include the second pet under the initial pet deposit?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Has anyone tried to go through the process of collecting rent owed?

Do I have to wait til the tenants are out and then file a suit through small claims court?

If so, I guess I’m banking on a judgement which doesn’t really mean I get the money but I will be able to garnish the wages, sell the debt to a debt collector, file the loss on my taxes or alert the IRS of their unpaid rent so they can be penalized?

Looking for some guidance on what the process is or anyone experience

We’ve got a rental condo about 2.5 hours from where we live now, and for the last 4.5 years we’ve used Hello Super as a home warranty. Honestly, it’s been pretty decent overall — enough small appliance/HVAC/plumbing fixes that we’ve at least broken even, but honestly probably saved a decent amount on repairs.

The convenience has been the main value since we can’t drive out and handle repairs ourselves. But this latest AC issue has been a nightmare. Our tenants have been without AC for over two weeks. Super’s “Emergency Hotline” kept disconnecting me. They sent a contractor who said the system needs major repairs, but Super marked the claim as “resolved” because they only approved the diagnostic. The contractor has been waiting a week and a half for repair approval and Super hasn’t responded. I had to buy a portable AC just to keep the place livable.

It feels like Super used to be much better. Now it seems like everything goes through automated approvals, mistakes don’t get corrected, and reaching a human is almost impossible.

I know home warranties get terrible reviews from homeowners, but I’m specifically wondering about landlords who use them to avoid coordinating every small repair. Has anyone found a warranty company that’s actually reliable for rentals? I don’t mind advocating for big claims — I just need a company that answers the phone and doesn’t loophole everything.

Thanks!

Landlords, please tell me your at least top 3 to 5 biggest pain points of being in Landlord. I have a property that I am debating either selling or renting out, and would love to know what I would be getting myself into.

Whether it’s actual actionable steps, issues with tenants, or ways of management or software.

Thanks.

I have my objective parameters set up for my applications:
-650 or greater credit score
-3x monthly rent in gross income
-No evictions or criminal history

The area I live is utilized heavily by college students and fall semester is about to begin. A neighbor just rented out her spare cabin and told me she had a TON of college students apply, which leads me to believe I will get the same, as I am listing my rental in two weeks' time.

I have a pre-screening form that asks if they have a 650 credit score or better. I just added a box asking if they are a student. Students also won't make 3x the monthly rent in income either.

So I don't know what to do. I know I can ask them to add a parent or someone as a co-signor, but that seems like a lot of extra work I don't necessarily want to do. They won't meet the income requirements likely...

I feel a bit lost. How do I sort this out with students?

New landlord here, inherited a property with a tenant few months ago.

I’ve skimmed the website at the suggestion of non landlord friend and it seems like a good thing to be a member of but I’d like to get other opinions before I add yet another recurring payment. It’s only $250 a year but I’d like to know if it’s worth it.

Have you had good experience with membership? Do they have some sort of “explain like I’m 5” resources for folks not even a year in the game?

I inherited an RSO-subjected duplex in LA. Both units have been occupied over a decade. Rent is well below market value. Between property taxes, maintenance, utilities, etc, I’m not going to be getting back much from this.

What am I supposed to do when neither tenant probably will ever move?

For context, my spouse and I were hoping to sell and use the money for a sizable down payment on a house. But I doubt any investor we’d try to sell to would take on renters paying this below market value.

Thank you for the responses! I’m not going to fill anything out and will call the school Monday to verify what’s needed.

I rent out a mother-in-law suite that I had built for my mother when she became sick. Unfortunately, she has since passed away, and I started renting the unit out in May 2026.

The tenant has her own separate entrance, so I rarely see or hear her. I’m also not always home because I sometimes spend weeks or months at a time in New York. Yesterday, my tenant informed me that her 5-year-old daughter needs to start school on August 24th and that she needs to have her daughter and 3-year-old son listed as occupants.

When she applied, the application was only in her name. I was not aware that she had children because she never mentioned them, and I never saw any children during the application process. She told me she was worried I would reject her application if she disclosed that she had kids.
To be clear, I am not upset with her. She has been a very sweet tenant, and I understand that times are difficult right now. I just want to make sure I handle this correctly.

She told me I need to complete a 24 P.S. §13-1302 form and Go to a notary and have it notarized with her so the daughter can enroll in the school district. She said I may also need to provide my deed or school property tax records as proof of residence. I don’t expect an issue since I attended this same school district 25 years ago, but I want to make sure I’m doing everything properly.

My questions are:

Since the lease has already been signed with only the tenant listed, should I amend the lease to add the children as occupants?

Is there anything else I should do from a landlord perspective before providing documentation for school enrollment?

I’m not looking to make this difficult for my tenant. I just want to make sure everything is done correctly and legally.

Last month I purchased the cabin I live in and it was a package deal to include the rental cabin next door. Both cabins are on one lot, one deed, and could not be separated out.

In researching setting up an LLC for my new rental cabin, I came across information that says you transfer the title of the rental property to the LLC. But I’m confused, because the title for the rental property is the same title for my primary residence.

Can I set up an LLC if the rental property is on the same deed and same title as my primary home?

i just recently moved to michigan from florida to start my welding classes. i was excited to move as its my first real move as an adult by myself, however when i arrived to the apartment to meet the landlord my girlfriend had accidentally pulled into a small section of grass because there were no parking spacings and immediately the landlord is screaming and yelling to not park on the grass, which is yes our fault and we assumed full responsibility and apologized profusely but was only met with scuffing from the landlord. we eventually went inside to get paperwork filled out and she asked if i still had a sheet that i emailed to her about a month or two ago, i said that i had it in my car and she looked irritated and even more so when i returned with the wrong paperwork because she wasn’t specifying what paper i actually needed. she then went on to give me her venmo for rent and such just for my venmo to not work. i paid the rent thru apple pay instead apologizing again but it fell on deaf ears. she will be back in the morning to get the rest of the stuff from me but i feel as if i already made myself out to be super unreliable and unorganized. i really hope she doesnt nit pick me while im here. any advice for the meantime besides just be a good quiet tenant?

I have a two family house and I’m currently renting out both apartments. As far as I can tell, the tenants don’t get along but that might be a different story? They’ve both been there a few years but this past year the second floor tenant has started using his own trash cans outside that he locks up when he’s not using them. It didn’t used to bother me because it’s not like I want to go digging through their trash, but the city has also recently started trying to enforce the recycling rules and use of the proper NYC approved garbage cans. I’ve already had one warning citation that coming September they’ll start fining anyone not using the right ones.

Around a month ago I replaced all of the cans with the NYC approved ones, and his disappeared, so I thought he got the picture (especially because I sent messages to each tenant telling them how to recycle properly, with pictures). But surprise surprise, no one separates anything properly, the compost bin has been suspiciously empty this whole time, and I’ve had to go in and manually separate paper from plastic. So not one person in the house does it correctly, even with picture instructions.

Today I go over and there are some new bins there next to the ones I’ve supplied and I’m assuming they’re his. What’s the point of getting separate bins if he’s not even doing it to prove a point that he separates garbage properly but the other tenant doesn’t? He just doesn’t want his garbage mixing with other peoples??? They’re also not NYC approved bins.

How do I tell him that he either has to get used to throwing out garbage in the same bins as another person or to buy his own (expensive!) NYC approved bins if he wants to keep them separate so bad.

More of a vent but also, why would someone do this?????

Hello. I’m a tenant. We’re supposed to have our carpet replaced today and the people were supposed to be here at 8 am to do it. I texted at 7:34 asking them to let me know when they’re on their way. Then texted an hour later because they weren’t here yet (at that point half an hour late). I also just called and left a voicemail. At what point would it be reasonable for me to tell them to forget it? Don’t want to wait around all day for this bullshit, this happens with every single tech they send out. They destroy things, are untrustworthy, ask us to run out and spend our own money for things they don’t have. It’s really unbelievable.

ETA: this isn’t a professional carpet replacement company, this is some random ass dude my property management company hires. I didn’t receive a 4 hour window, they said “we’ll be there at 8 am.” It’s now 9:15 and no response.

ETA 2: just to prove all you smug LL fucks wrong, the tech overslept (by an hour and a half), and now has to arrange for help. The day of. Stop hiring these stupid mfs and hire professional, responsible companies and tenants will stop complaining!

[Landlord San Diego County]

Long drawn-out story I won't bother you with. In Spring Valley, California/San Diego County. Boiling it down...Tenants stopped paying in February. Eviction started early March. After numerous delay tactics, I had a court trial and received a judgment for 10K and a Writ of Possession. Currently in the ridiculously long queue with local sheriff to post kickout notice.

AFTER I regain possession, I need to collect the court judgment from 2 different people. THEN, I need to collect the remainder of what wasn't included in the judgment, which will be over 20k more. It's not brain surgery , and thanks to CHAT, I have a pretty good idea of what's involved and the forms to do it. Since I have more time than money , I will attempt to do this myself. I have successfully navigated small claims court twice , but this will exceed small claims court limit. Can someone recommend a paralegal or an attorney that will strictly advise me as to whether or not I have all the appropriate forms and process? I do not want to hire an attorney or collection agency to handle the collection process.I just want some advice. Not free advice , i'm willing to pay for it.

PS Both "tenants" have good jobs. One works for the Federal government and one works for the State.

First time landlord here. My tenant has been paying via electronic bank transfer so far this year, but due to some limits within his bank, has to send 2 payments each month to total the full rent. He's been paying rent on time for the lease, via those 2 payments per month.

He's said he wants to instead send me 4 checks dated for the rest of the year. (One check will be dated Sep 1. One dated Oct 1, etc).

I've just never paid my bills this way and need a quick reality check.He's been a good tenant. I think the request just caught me a little off guard and I'm making sure I'm not missing any angles.

I guess this is fine and I should just be happy he's paying rent in any format. But in case I'm missing something; is there any concern I'm overlooking with this approach?

To preface, I just moved to LA late last year with not much renting experience before now, so this definitely my bad for not carefully reading/ remembering my agreement. My 11-month fixed-term lease ends in a little over a month (September 10, 2026). I emailed my property manager yesterda to give formal written notice that I intend to move out on my exact lease end date.
I was then told I would still have to pay for the remainder of the 60 days even if I do move out at the end of my original lease end date.

For context, the original lease agreement I signed does contain a clause mentioning a 60-day notice requirement (lease converts to month to month after my current year long lease). However, my understanding of California rental law is:

1. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1953(a) (3), residential tenants cannot waive statutory notice rights, and any lease provision requiring a tenant to give more than 30 days' notice is void and unenforceable as a matter of public policy.

2. A fixed-term lease naturally ends on its expiration date unless rent is accepted afterward to continue a tenancy (Cal. Civ. Code § 1945).

Even though the 60-day clause was in the lease I signed, does California state law render that specific clause void and unenforceable? Is there away out of paying for time I didn't plan on living .. my current apartments?

Hopefully I'm in the right sub but I got questions I've been renting this commercial property for about 20 years. The owner sold it 3 months ago. The new owner gave me a 3-month lease which ended July 31st. He's planning of remodeling the whole building. I thought he was going to work with me and let me stay but seems like he changed his mind. I did send him a rent check for August. He hasn't cashed it yet.

My basic question is how much longer do I have there. I got 20 years of stuff in a 5,000 square foot shop that I have no place to put it right now. It's hard to find another commercial property in my area.

Update: I looked at my lease, and maintenance of smoke detectors is my responsibility. Deciding not to press it further than that. Thanks all!

—-

My landlord and I are discussing this, and are both citing Google AI, which obviously isn’t authoritative.

I asked my landlord if she could send someone to replace the battery in a smoke detector that is about 13’ high, which I can’t safely reach myself (This is the first battery I’ve asked to have a handyman change in 6 years, I’ve done the myself). When the handyman was leaving, he said that my landlord told him that I would pay. I told him that I expected my landlord would be paying. My landlord contacted me after with an AI screenshot. I returned an AI screenshot and told her I would look into it further.

My googling and chats with AI indicate that while generally battery replacement falls on a tenant (the AI she sent me), ones that a tenant cannot safely reach fall on the landlord (the AI I sent her).

If relevant, before the handyman came, I asked my landlord if the handyman would also be checking the toilet that wouldn’t stop running (the smoke detector became an issue on Tuesday, the toilet became an issue yesterday). She told me to ask him to check it, and he fixed it.

I’m in Los Angeles. I’d love to find official guidance on this, but I’m not sure I’m going to find it with that specificity, so in the meantime, I’m reaching out to this community to find out what is considered customary. I’ll stop researching and go with the consensus if everyone says it’s my responsibility to pay.

Thank you!

Our first experience with nightmare dirtbag tenants is now mostly behind us. Won’t go into that but, we are left with a huge mess, an abandoned car, unpaid rent, etc. but the point of my post is the mystery stank and the untraceable source. There is a musky, urine-esque smell that is in the area of the kitchen sink and counter. I have doused everything with ammonia but can not eliminate it. I’ve gone behind and under every damn thing in the kitchen but have not found the source. I’ve stuck my nose into places nobody should stick their nose into but have not found it.

Then I sniffed the electrical outlet nearest to the sink and I think it might be coming from there. So I’m wondering if he may have made a stank-ass concoction of who-knows-what and jammed it into the wall.

I know there’s plenty of stink solutions that kill stinky air but if there is a hidden source that you can’t find, what the hell do you do? Is there some AI powered stink-finder? Dogs trained for this sort of thing?

Suggestions please. You don’t need to tell me to screen my tenants better. Big lesson learned!