Do I have to give tenant access to basement in case of a tornado?

[quincy]

It does kind of seem like it might be easier to give these tenants notice and keep us having a basement a secret from future tenants.

That sounds like a good plan. It is best not to have tenants during tornado season.

 

[stealth2]

It does kind of seem like it might be easier to give these tenants notice and keep us having a basement a secret from future tenants.

What sort of lease do they have? You'd have to follow state law regarding giving notice/eviction. "I don't want them to be able to shelter i my basement in case of a tornado" likely won't cut it.

 

[adjusterjack]

Have you ever seen the Steve Martin movie The Jerk? One of my favorite movies.

I don’t know why I thought of it …

The Twilight Zone episode about the fallout shelter came to mind.

"The Twilight Zone" The Shelter (TV Episode 1961) - IMDb

 

[quincy]

Tornado86 potentially could release his tenants early from their obligations under the lease and could potentially pay them to move out early as an incentive to move.

Tornado86 could also hire a property management company to look after both his house and the rental while he is away on his frequent trips, with management allowing the tenants limited access to the house if/when tornadoes are imminent.

But, quite frankly, some people make for good landlords and others are just not up to the task. I am not sure Tornado86 is up to the task.

 

[adjusterjack]

some people make for good landlords and others are just not up to the task.

Two sides to that coin, Q.

Some tenants will destroy a house and rob the LL blind, no matter how good the LL is.

 

[quincy]

Two sides to that coin, Q.

Some tenants will destroy a house and rob the LL blind, no matter how good the LL is.

I have never had bad tenants but, not only do I screen them pretty carefully, the majority of my tenants are college students with parent co-signers on the leases, so my tenants also have parents keeping them in line pretty well.

On move-in day every year, I often see parents come to help with the move and “decorate” the houses for their grown kids (e.g., hang curtains, add throw pillows) and stock the kitchen cupboards and refrigerators.

I understand that many landlords handle rentals in more depressed areas and/or have a totally different sort of tenant, however. Tornado86 doesn’t sound to me like one of those landlords, though.

 

[Tornado86]

There’s a reason

What sort of lease do they have? You'd have to follow state law regarding giving notice/eviction. "I don't want them to be able to shelter i my basement in case of a tornado" likely won't cut it.

Month to month. I know about giving them notice, but I wasn’t aware we also had to give them a reason at the same time. There have been some other issues with them we can use though.

 

[quincy]

There’s a reason


Month to month. I know about giving them notice, but I wasn’t aware we also had to give them a reason at the same time. There have been some other issues with them we can use though.

Your tenants might be happy to receive notice.

 

[STEPHAN]

Is there a way to put an electronic lock on some door that you could unlock remotely or with a combination that you only give out in case of an emergency?

 

[Tornado86]

Is there a way to put an electronic lock on some door that you could unlock remotely or with a combination that you only give out in case of an emergency?

It does already have a keypad, but the whole point is we don’t want anyone to have access to that area.

 

[quincy]

It does already have a keypad, but the whole point is we don’t want anyone to have access to that area.

I guess you need to keep your fingers crossed that a tornado does not rip through your home, exposing to the world (or at least the neighboring area) all of the secrets currently hidden securely behind your locked basement door. Mother Nature has an uncanny knack for spoiling even the best-conceived of plans.

 

[Tornado86]

Your tenants might be happy to receive notice.

I’m kind of worried about that because the reason they were willing to move a family into such a small place is because they wanted their kids to go to the school in our neighborhood. Hopefully we won’t have to go through the eviction process.

 

[Tornado86]

I guess you need to keep your fingers crossed that a tornado does not rip through your home, exposing to the world (or at least the neighboring area) all of the secrets currently hidden securely behind your locked basement door. Mother Nature has an uncanny knack for spoiling even the best-conceived of plans.

Honestly, that would be less of an issue in a way.

 

[stealth2]

There’s a reason


Month to month. I know about giving them notice, but I wasn’t aware we also had to give them a reason at the same time. There have been some other issues with them we can use though.

I was thinking in terms of a longer lease term and trying to give notice well before it was up.

 

[Tornado86]

I was thinking in terms of a longer lease term and trying to give notice well before it was up.

We would give them the required notice of course, but we don’t want to sign a longer lease with them.