Q: I am renting a condo to a couple who have a 24-year-old son. When the lease was signed, I asked if anyone else would be residing in the unit. They stated no, that their son was away at college and would stay only when he was home on breaks. His name was included in the lease as someone permitted to stay at the condo without notifying me.

At some point, the son came home from college and moved into the unit with his parents. I mentioned to them that it appeared their son was residing in the condo full time. Their response was that, yes, their son did move into the unit after leaving school, but that he was going to move out once he got settled with a job.

When the lease came up for renewal, I dropped it off in person and explained that I added their son to the lease, since he was living there full time. They told me he had now moved out and would be staying with them only on weekends or for short visits. When they returned the signed lease, they had crossed his name out. However, I did some checking and found that he was still living there full time. I confronted the tenants about this, and they confided that he was living there, but that now there is a medical issue preventing him from moving out. I notified them in writing that if their son continues living with them, he will have to be added to the lease, and a background check performed. Their response was that they were willing to sign paperwork to take responsibility for their son, but wanted to avoid adding him to the lease. The fact that they do not want a background check concerns me. What are my options?

A: You have several options. You can have them sign a form acknowledging the lease violation and accepting responsibility for their son, who isn't included on their lease. You could also evict them because they committed a lease violation. However, if they've been good tenants, you probably would prefer to work with them rather than have to find new tenants. It also concerns me that your tenants don't want you to run a background check on their son, but it may just be that they don't want him on their lease. You should put the acknowledgment in writing and get both of your tenants' signatures.

Late rent

Q: I currently have tenants who have paid their rent late for six months. However, they are now paying on time. Their lease isn't up for another year, but can I use their late-payment history as leverage to ask them to leave? I don't want to constantly act like a collection agency.

A: You can ask your tenants to leave, but they do have a binding lease that runs for another year. They violated the lease by paying their rent late, but when you accepted it you waived your right to file an eviction in that month. However, they may not mind terminating their lease early, since they appear to be having trouble covering their rent. If they don't want to terminate their lease early, you should wait until they pay their rent late again to ask them to leave. At that time, you could file an eviction, but remember, if you accept their late payment, you cannot file an eviction that month. Many landlords don't want to spend money to file an eviction, especially since the tenants have the absolute right to redeem by paying all outstanding rent, plus the cost of eviction. Instead, the next time the rent is late, you could negotiate with your tenants, letting them know that you don't want to file an eviction that will affect their rental history and cost you money. If your tenants agree to terminate the lease early, put that agreement in writing and have both parties sign it.

Kelly Klein is a Minneapolis attorney. Participation in this column does not create an attorney/client relationship with Klein. Do not rely on advice in this column for legal opinions. Consult an attorney regarding your particular issues. E-mail renting questions to kklein@kleinpa.com, or write to Kelly Klein c/o Star Tribune, 650 3rd Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488. Information provided by readers is not confidential.