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Tenant has issue w/ new lease..no smoking...decided not to pay rent this month?

in oct 08 my mother, husband, and i purchased an apartment building. the tenants were already here so we made an automatically renewing month to month lease. At that time the lease was very simple. We did this b/c we did not know the background of these tenants nor did we know what kind of tenants they were. Over the winter months we had some issues with one tenant we decided it was time to do a more intense lease. It came at a perfect time bc the tenant was to start getting HUD which they needed a year lease for. We redrafted the lease in which we added some clauses. The lease was longer than most but it was more specific. One thing we changed was the building is now non-smoking (in oct the tenant asked if they could smoke inside we told them at that point we were not changing anything so it would be whatever they did before they could do now but it could very well and probably would change at a later date) we assigned parking (i was tired of everyone fighting over the 'best' spots) we also limited the number of vehicles bc of the limited parking space. it was all pretty simple and standard. we did become a little more strict in the fact that you get one warning and you then have the opportunity to fix the problem if it happens again its eviction. we felt we needed to be stricter bc things were so lenient that they became out of control. Tonight, the tenants bf came to my door and was upset. first he asked what was up with this new lease and why it was stricter. I explained that it is a standard lease that all units received and are expected to sign in order to stay there. I further explained that things have just gotten out of control. I felt the need to take a little more control over what was happening. It was not just their unit but everyone. he went on to tell me no one would tell him he couldn't smoke in his home. I told him that no one is allowed to smoke inside now. I told him that not everyone in the building are smokers and that in some areas it is seeping into other units (one of those being mine; my husband and I do not smoke) I also explained that it is unhealthy to my nieces and nephews (especially my nephew who cannot go into my bedroom bc he has a lung disorder and the smoke seeps in they smoke an extreme amount. I told him that these were the new rules I explained further some of the other rules and the reasons for them. he was not worried about any rule except the indoor smoking being prohibited (yet they have two very nice large porch areas) He had stated that they were not comfortable signing a year lease since that was what HUD wanted. I told him I understood and was sorrythey felt that way but there is a lot of liability on my part for them smoking inside besides the reasons i stated before. (earlier today i had received a call from HUD stating the tenant never turned in the papers for me to be paid) I asked him if she had the papers for HUD he said yes and they were not turning them in for me to get paid. He also made a round about comment of her not paying rent. He did not come straight out and say they weren't paying but i had asked them to review the new lease then bring it over when they pay rent tomorrow and we would sign it and i could give them a copy. he made the comment that she would be bringing nothing to me they were leaving. they would start tomorrow looking at places. i told him ok to keep me posted and let me know when they would be moved out. First, was I wrong to change so much? (nothing was unreasonable as i said it was parking, smoking, noise, fire pit safety, guests (allowed to stay so many nights then they have to pay bc i pay all utilities)) second, how should I approach them not paying since they are leaving? Should I do a notice to quit and eviction if they do not pay by the 7th (which is the last day they can pay w/out late fee) Third, should I contact HUD? (HUD does have some of the papers she was approved as was the apartment etc. I had faxed the important ones in to get the apartment approved before June 1st so they could start paying for her. However, the woman in charge of HUD said to mail the other papers in (my w-9 and so forth) the tenant told me that her caseworker would be picking them up and taking them in. HUD contacted the caseworker today and was trying to find the papers. they caseworker had not returned her call the last I know of. Hence, why I asked the tenant's bf where the papers were) my nieces and nephews do not live with me but often visit and i babysit them sometimes. I explained too the damage the smoke can cause. This is a historical building (we are trying to have it made a landmark) the apartment has all the 1900 wood working hard wood floors fireplace and even an italian hand painted mural above the fireplace. Also the issue with guests came when the tenant has guests for long periods of time. In the past lease it was 2 weeks you were allowed to have a guest. The tenant would have a guest 2 wks the guest would leave 2-3 days then be back for another 2 weeks. I pay all utilities. my bills have doubled and tripled. we now have it that they are allowed so many days after which time the guest has to pay a small fee to stay to cover the extra utilities. And yes I am within my legal rights. I have never seen a rental that allowed tenants to smoke inside until this one. As far as the smoke seeping it seeps under doors and into hallways it has nothing to do with being a poor building. people i do not know how many times i need to say this. THIS LEASE IS 100% LEGAL IT DOES NOT VIOLATE ANY TENANT RIGHTS. I am not dumb enough to write a lease without legal advice. I am not asking about the legalities of my lease.

Public Comments

1. well simply put you own this property. they sign a contract to live there and have to abide by your rules if not you can kick them out. and if they do not pay you rent they break the contract and you can kick them out. And you can sue them for back owed rent. i think your being to nice from them YOUR rules and you should not have to explain them or be questioned it's your property. Your being to nice to them. explain to them if they are not willing to follow the rules then they will have to pack there bags and leave within 7 days.
2. You were not wrong to make a stricter lease.Most leases are far more restrictive.You own the property,not the tenants. If they don't pay you or they dont do the paperwork for you to get paid, evict them asap. The only good lease is one that is enforced 110% at all times.
3. use some paragraphs, No one will be able to read that
4. If the tenants in question are already refusing to pay rent, you should give them until the 7th and then begin the process of eviction. It's my guess that they have no intention of paying up. They are having a hissy over not getting their way. You are within your rights to make changes. I think you have gone a little too far too fast, keeping in mind that these are long-term renters, but whats done is done. You can probably expect further issues of the same nature from your other smoking tenants, but do your best to NOT back down. You have an investment to protect, and the liability for health issues as well as fire safety, falls on you! Take Care.
5. wow if smoke seeps through the walls then you bought some really crappy built apartments i've never once in my life seen something like that. Must be a city folk thing to even put up with such shotty construction.
6. Did you consult a lawyer or HUD before writing the lease?Are you sure your within the law. HUD has very strict regulations. You sound strict and I would not rent from you. You sound very controlling. I do not smoke, but I would not want someone telling me what I could or could not do in my apartment or how many nights someone could stay.You sound like the landlord from hell. Losen up or your going to have trouble renting the places or keeping tentents. Good Luck cause your going to need it. I bet your old and retired and nose on the tentents all day and night.
7. Why is it that HOBO's that can least afford to, SMOKE? I was startled to learn that a pack of smokes has gone up to almost $6 here in Calif!! I dont smoke so it's OK by me! Someone staying for 2wks is nothing more than an Itinerant Tenant, dont allow that at all!! The fewer tramps the better, keeps the noise level down and utilities down too....
8. You need an attorney. You can't just up and decide for yourself what rights other people have. My best guess is that HUD is about to breath heavily down your neck for civil rights violations. You wrote your own lease, and apparently did not bother to verify it was within your states real estate laws. You should seek legal aid immediately.
9. Jesus...as usual, that only answer that is correct gets the down-votes. The question that is relevant here is: Did you draft the lease yourself, or have an attorney do it? You CANNOT just write whatever into a lease, there are laws that govern what can and cannot go into one. I can't say that you have violated any of those laws, but when tenants are getting irate...you're usually going down the wrong path somewhere... I understand the "no smoking" thing, I really do. It costs me 3 times as much to turn over a unit that someone smoked in versus one that no one did. My state doesn't address the issue directly other than to exclude private residences from mandatory no smoking zones. Anyhow, that is something you need to talk to an attorney about. All of it. The stricter you are with a lease, the more tenants you will lose. The idea is NOT to have control over your tenants, that's really the last thing you need. You need a set of common sense agreements in place that everyone can get behind. Parking limitations are OK to a point, but I'd never mess with assigned parking as enforcing it would require too much on my part. Like I said...talk to an attorney first and make sure your "new lease" is within the law. I talk to landlords all the time who draft up leases that are almost entirely unenforceable because they though they could just hammer it out themselves.