Yes it can. Check your state code for the specifics, i’m sure they all have procedures for this. www.findlaw.com is a good place to look. There probably will be something like a written notice and not less than 30 days after receipt of notice you could evict if its not fixed. Unless he is a real deadbeat and you are looking for a reason to get him out i wouldn’t bother, just take it out of his security deposit when he leaves. If he fought you, would a judge throw them out because the kid stained the carpet?..I dunno. Would be interesting to hear from someone that has served a “fix it or get out letter”.
Does anyone know whether a lease can be nullified if a tenant damages your property before the lease expires? A tenant’s two year old son, in a rental of mine, got watercolors all over a new carpet I recently put in. I believe the tenant will correct the problem but, if they don’t I hope someone can say whether this is a violation of a standard lease agreement, and thereby grounds for terminating the lease. Thank You.
There is really no such thing as a standard lease agreement unless you are using a standard form approved by your state bar association or something. You need to read your lease to see exactly what it says. (I find it a little frightening that you don’t already know what your own lease says.)
If it were me, I would ask the tenants to pay for the damages ASAP. Of course they have to live in it, so you could have them make payments to you and then fix it once they move out. I would probably be a little reluctant myself, because it may get damaged again if the kid is still living there. If they absolutely refuse to pay and the agreement allows eviction based on this, I would decide whether or not to evict based on the cost of the damage and the amount of their deposit. The reason being is that it may cost you more to evict them than to keep them through the end of their lease.
If you cannot get the stain out by steam cleaning, you may consider getting it dyed. That is usually much cheaper than replacing it.