Renting Other Side of Duplex

Screening prospective tenants is one of the hardest jobs ever!
People are always on their best behavior when they are in front of you.

Make a pet rule for sure, otherwise this nice couple with a small child will all of a sudden inherit a pitbull and a python from their Aunt Mazey who just got put in a rest home.

Go to the LPA (landord protection assoc) website, they have lots of good tips on screening and lease writing.

If you OWN this duplex, if I were you, I'd add an extra layer of insulation to the adjoining walls and drywall over it, that keeps "neighborly" noise a bit more limited.

Also have a good "guest" policy, you will find that many tenants will move more people in after they've signed their lease, that is another huge problem.

I would require two month's rent as a deposit, and run a background check, then make sure there is a clause about excessive noise or disruptive/dangerous behavior in your contract. Whatever you do, DO NOT rent without a real contract in place! All your rights and expectations (and theirs) are spelled out there, or they don't exist, legally speaking.

My grandma always rented her upstairs part of her duplex. I can't remember exactly how my uncle wrote up the rental agreement but it gave us the right to give 30 days notice to get the heck out. In return the rent was lower than comps. She was in her late 80s early 90s. Protecting her was our primary responsibility.

If I were you I would contact an attorney and see how you can protect yourself.

Well I disagree with Gamma G. Smoking and having 20 people living there WOULD cause damage to the house. 20 people using the restroom could easily cause toilet/plumbing issues that the landlord would then have to deal with since it's technically owned by them. So yes - you could put a "guest" clause in your rental agreement. For example, my MIL comes to visit us for two weeks at a time. I think that sounds reasonable. Smoke smell is very hard to get out of the carpet/walls, so if you allow them to smoke inside, be certain that the smell will remain and the next prospective tenants may walk in, take a wiff, and walk out. As far as noise and parties, here in Texas we'd shake hands and say "let's be reasonable. We have a New Years party sometimes. At Thanksgiving we have a few people over. What about y'all?"

smoking, noise levels past a certain time, pets, parking (NOT ON THE GRASS- if you are like me!), housekeeping and outdoor keep, I will think of more but thats what I got for right now. Sorry didnt read others posts either on to doing that now.

Learn, memorize and embrace the Fair Housing Laws before your become a landlord.

http://www.twc.state.tx.us/crd/housing_fact.html
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/...

and from http://www.narpm.org/about/press-center/news/ada_and_fair...

Fair Housing law applies to private residential property

Fair Housing law, unlike ADA, applies to residential property, whether it is for sale or rent. And, the law's coverage does not just apply to multifamily properties! It applies to single family homes, condominiums, and even homeless shelters - all residential property is covered. Although there are limited exemptions to Fair Housing law for private owners of a small number of properties, these exemptions are very narrowly construed. If the property owner employs an agent, there is no exemption, no matter how few properties he/she owns. Further, even if the owner does not employ an agent, he/she cannot discriminate in advertising the property for sale or rent, under any circumstances.

If you rent a property to someone else it is their home for the duration of that lease. You cannot dictate what they do in that home or who they have in that home, it is their home. You have no right to dictate anything they do that is not obviously going to damage the property like parking on the grass.

You cannot make any demands about noise other than call the police on them if they are breaking the city ordinance laws. You cannot do anything to them as their landlord other than evict them for not paying rent or some legal aspect of renting. It is their home for the duration of the lease.

They don't even have to mow on your orders. The city will give them a warning if it gets too high. It is not your place to order them to do anything but normal upkeep and rent paid on time.

They can smoke, drink, whoremonger, party, have 20 people living there. You are not HUD and the rent is not based on income so you cannot force them to do these things.

They can however report you for all kinds of things if you are invading their privacy. I have a friend who's aunt had a little house down the street from her mothers. She would go in the house when the tenant was not home and turn their AC off. She thought they were wasteful for leaving it on when they weren't home. They turned her in and she got a reprimand from some renters association.

She also would go to their house all the time and demand to be allowed in to inspect. They got out their handy hand book the association gave them and showed her that she did not have the right to make them let her in, it was their home while they were renting.

She was allowed to inspect about 2 times per year to list repairs needed. She could inspect for other reasons but they had to be real reasons, like water was coming out from under the house, a gas smell was coming out, smoke was seen from the outside, etc...real reasons that the property was at risk.

Otherwise it was the renters home and she had rights but not the right to rule or mandate what the did while they lived there.
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Again, you can put whatever you want in a piece of paper but unless it is a court order no one is going to enforce it. If I wanted to have company 365 days per year a land lord has no legal right to tell me I cannot have said company. It is not a landlords business who I have in my home.

I lived in some low income apartments once upon a time. The manager and I hated each other. My friend stood up for me and told the manager she needed to check with her supervisors about some stuff she was trying to force me to do. She was trying to spray my apartment every month for bugs and she was insisting on coming in with the bug man each time.
#1, I had no roaches, I didn't request spraying.

#2, it was in my lease they could spray every other month if I needed them to. If I wanted them to and didn't want to be home then they could get a key from the manager. This was common since there were lots of parents who worked every day.

#3. I had a doctors note in my file stating I could not be home for 24 hours after the apartment was sprayed due to allergies and asthma.

She just wanted to make my life difficult.

She "Banned" my friend from entering the property. She stated she would call the police and have her arrested for trespassing due to her being a trouble maker and causing problems on the property. Sounds reasonable doesn't it.

I called and discussed the issue with her supervisors and she got fired the next month for illegal practices for a landlord. So I stand by my statements. A landlord has rights but does not have the right to dictate how a person lives while they are renting property. It is "their" home during the time designated on their lease.