After spending literally 4 days cleaning up grease spattered all over a kitchen walls and down into the appliances, I've texted all tenants and told them we don't want deep frying on the premises. Its not in the current leases, but it will be in the new ones.

The issue is mainly with gas stoves which have open flame. I think its a fire hazard and/or lawsuit waiting to happen. As well as the all-too-likelihood they will then dump the dirty grease down the pipes and ruin the plumbing.

Frankly I think some tenants just can't be trusted. This woman never touched a rag in over a year, just let layer after layer build up.

I had one text me back last night (drunk, I think) yelling at me saying I was telling him how to eat. After I briefly explained how it was a building fire hazard he seems to have relented. We'll see how this goes.

How can you ban deep-frying? I would instead have charged the outgoing tenant for all the cleaning!

Good luck to you.

I'm with NE on this one.

I doubt any tenant will obey this. Next it will be another protected class. "You can't tell me how to cook or what to eat!"

If you want to try, maybe:

1. Do the pre signing visit to prospects current place and see how they cook. Grease everywhere?

2. Don't provide a gas stove or a gas hookup. In fact, don't provide any stove at all if possible. Class A and B you might have to. If so, try a smooth top electric stove.

3. Rent to vegetarians.

Actually though, those who want to deep fry things will find a way.

Triplexer,

I don't think that would work.

You would be better served to do periodic inspections and have them clean up any real messes and recheck in a week. At lease end if they leave a mess charge for it. Put cleaning charges in your lease.

Agreed there's no way to police, and I never intended to anyway.

Pretty much all you have is the deposit statement and photographs of all the grease. It IS flammable, and a fire hazard if they have gas open flame stoves. But if they actually clean up after they fry, heck if I care. Problem is experience has taught me that many renters just don't clean, period.

And in her case she had a big standing pot of oil sitting on her stove the whole time she lived there. Say goodbye to the kitchen if that caught on fire, lol.

I've already had a relative tell me "YOU CAN'T TELL YOUR RENTERS THAT!?!" after my drunk tenant blow-up last night.

This seems to touch some kind of nerve, I don't know why.

I guess there is some kind of offense involved related to telling people how to eat, got me. I may have to give up on the idea.

The answer to: "Why don't you hire someone to clean?" is because I'm POOR, lol.

>> Keep insurance up and pray for a fire>> lol

I am a contractor with some Fire Prevention Training. In some of my rentals I install Fire Suppression Systems over the Stove Tops and under the Hoods. Some systems aren't that expensive while other cost an arm an leg and are way out of any budget.

Home Depot sells a StoveTop FireStop Rangehood Cooktop Fire Extinguisher with a magnet you attach to the hood above the stove top. Other systems go in the ceiling. Some are automatic while other require a pull lever.

It is always a good idea to install two or more interior fire extinguishers in a rental. One in the kitchen and another outside the kitchen that is accessible to the tenants.

Grease fires are a main cause for starting kitchen fires.

Tile backsplash with a smooth glaze all the way up the wall behind the stove helps a lot.

I've not had the grease so much, but I've had spaghetti sauce splashed all the way to the ceiling. Tomato sauce soaks into paint and won't wash off if it isn't washed off right away.

‘ I may have to give up on the idea’ This has gone past idea, you told tenants, one got pissy, others might be not happy with this new policy. My question for you would be, do you have a lease, or is this periodic tenancy? A change in rules can only be given with proper notice.

I would suggest a ‘cooling off’ period for you, when you are thinking of a rule change. Think it over, think it through. Flinging new rules out there ( by text) every time you are annoyed with one tenants behavior is going to inspire tenants to fling texts back when they are annoyed. Even if your text felt calm to you, it won’t feel that way to tenants. I put rule changes in writing, send it via mail, and put an effective date on there. It gets sent with enough time so as to be giving tenants proper notice, 28 days, in my case, as mine are all periodic tenancies. If you have a lease for term, you need to send rule changes with proper notice before the lease renewal, not whenever you feel the urge. And, send the notice in written format, unless you do all electronic lease signing. In other words, if tenants signed a physical paper lease, notices of changes to lease terms should be by same method, unless tenants were ALSO given notice that new leases will be electronic. ( make sure you follow your state and municipality rules/ guidelines for electronic documents, if you are switching to electronic.)

Oh, and Mike, I am not very fussy over house-keeping. I am looking, listening, smelling for the safety stuff, the bad relationship stuff. I have a couple of tenants that aren’t so great at house-keeping, but, they are busy, keeping the bills paid, keeping their kids on a good path. One came with the house when I bought it, the other had her kitchen reasonably clean during the application process, and her partner had his unit quite clean, except he’s a smoker ( I allow smoking, ) so there was the smell. Compliance at paying bills and getting along with neighbors, family, more important to me than spotless housekeeping.

Mike, others do the 2 minute in home visit later in the process too. That’s fine too. Sid, and Brad have both written about this, so, if you search some of their posts, or search the topic, you’ll find more ways to go about it. I am sure I got the idea from reading their posts. My biggest thing I am searching for in a tenant is one ‘that will work with me’ lol! One that can get along with my style of land-lording, and I have a little stress test built into the in home visit that yields good results of someone who would be a good fit for me. I won’t describe that little stress test, as I don’t want word of what I am looking for to get out, just will say it is in full compliance with Fair Housing laws, and is based upon a stress test I learned taking HR classes in college.