I Kicked Out The Right Tenant!

This morning I met the city building inspector at the duplex. Apparently you have to get the place inspected between each tenant. I was surprised, however, to find a health inspector there as well.

Also waiting for me in the yard when I pulled up were two potential tenants (roommates), the existing tenant, and the handyman. I waved and smiled as I frantically rushed towards the chaotic group.

I paid the handyman and told the existing tenant to start the inspector through their side of the place while I showed the two roommates the other side. Nervous about what they were finding next door, I rushed through the tour and handed the guys their applications and bounced next door, telling them to keep looking around.

The inspectors were surprisingly jovial. They kept joking and laughing and commenting about how they love dealing with "cooperative" landlords and try not to crack down too hard on us. I just kept alternately smiling and staring with a concerned face at everything they looked at. I held my breath with every pensive pause, hoping I wouldn't hear a phrase like "Yeah, looks like you'll need to replace the entire roof."

Anyway, once we moved next door to the vacant unit, I found out the health inspector was there because of my former tenant, who I kicked out. I had never gotten a single request or complaint from him, except about his neighbors, but apparently he had been repeatedly calling and writing the health department!

I knew he had called them regarding a leaky faucet in the adjascent backyard - which was the last straw before I declined to renew his month to month lease. I would have had it fixed immediately, but instead he called the health dept on his neighbors.

But apparently he'd also called and written about other things, the most concerning being the "overwhelming stench of mold" coming from the bathroom and his bedroom closet, which allegedly caused him to have to move to sleep in the living room. He said in the letter he had repeatedly complained to management!

I told the inspectors I'd never gotten a single complaint from him or I would've had somebody out here to look into it. My eavesdropping tenants piped in that I always fix everything they ask and that I'm a great landlord; I mentally forgave them for those few months when they were behind on rent.

The health inspectors found no sign of mold, and they laughed at the former tenant, reading portions of his grammatically incorrect letter out loud. He ranted and raved about droppings in the yard, open pipes, backed up toilets, and goodness knows what else.

The inspectors just said they were releived to find that none of it was true! As was I, of course. I hadn't spent much time in that unit because it's been occupied since I bought the place. For all I know there could have been mold. The health inspector said he was glad that tenant was gone so they can quit dealing with him!

Me too, inspector. Me too.