What to do when your Tenants have Holiday Guests Overstaying Too Long?

Property Management Blog

People travel to be among their loved ones during holiday season. Some of your tenants may go to spend holidays with their family. Others might decide to play hosts to their relatives coming to stay with them in your rental property in Palm Coast. Usually these guests stay in your property for some time in the holiday season and then go back to their respective places. But what do you do if a few of such guests choose to stay in your property even after the holidays?

Check what the lease agreement says


The lease agreement signed by you and the tenant should address this thorny issue. It must differentiate between a guest and someone who qualifies as a new resident. If there is a clear mention in the agreement that any guest cannot stay beyond 10 nights in your property, you have the right as a landlord to object to an overstaying guest. If all residents living in your property are listed, it should be easy for you to screen a guest who overstays.

Keep communicating about the issue


It is a good idea to be honest and open regarding the issue of guests with your tenants. Encourage your tenants to be open and frank with you so that they are not likely to violate the terms of the lease agreement. If a good tenant has a guest who overstays for a few days, you can be gracious and allow the tenant to host him without giving him a notice. If the tenant does not realize that he is in violation of terms of lease agreement, you can politely bring this to his notice. You can easily overcome your stress by placing a phone call to your tenant and making your position clear to him.

No need to keep sulking


Many times, landlords keep waiting for a long time before they decide to give a proper notice to their tenant having an overstaying guest. There is no need to wait for a long time before acting in this regard. As soon as you learn about a guest who has overstayed in your property beyond the time mentioned in the lease agreement, you should let the tenant know that he is violating the terms of lease agreement.

A holiday guest overstaying in your property can be a delicate situation. The guest could be a family member or a boyfriend/girlfriend with no intentions to stay permanently in your property.  It is better to talk to your tenant and know the reason behind overstay of the guest. If he has a genuine reason, you could behave like a magnanimous landlord and allow him to stay for few more days. It helps to build a positive image as a landlord among your tenants. However, if you feel that there is no valid reason for the guest to be staying far too long in your property, you are well within your right to give a notice, asking the tenant to make his guest leave the premises.

In most cases, a polite conversation with the tenant is all it takes to resolve the issue. If the tenant is good and honest, he will ask the guest to leave the property in a few days. However, you need to take timely action in case of an overstaying guest.


If you’d like to talk more about property management, or you need help with Everest Property Management, please contact us at Everest Realty. 


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