Apartment and Rental Properties - Steaming up a rental

Okay. We learned about smoke. Now what about damage to windows, sills, and mold and mildew growth in and on walls, etc., because tenants cook and bathe too much? Do you know this also can cause exterior paint to peel prematurely in older homes that do not say have Tyvek?

Can one institute a relative humidity rule?, where they have to honor your wishes and turn on bath and cooking fans even not when needed for that particular task? And then come and check with a humidity gauge?, or go by if your glasses steam up,and stay steamed up for 15 minutes, when you go in, and threaten to have them move out if they do not comply?

This is not theory. Two similar newer condo rentals with same construction and identical wood low-E thermopane windows. One house with steam has so much ice on the windows plus melting water running in cracks in the sill and into the wall cavity, and discoloring/ruining the beautiful wood, that was just refinished late last year! (by me!) - while the other rental is bone dry. The other rental even has a humidifier (yes, not a misprint - humidifier - not DE- humidifier!) in it and has 37% RH, but no steamed up glasses upon entering condo today when 0 degrees out and the windows look brand new in that house and are free of ice and water! This house has elderly couple. The other steam house has several tenants and lady of the house cooks for church doings all the time, and they are always using both showers and are washing clothes a lot, and she has church doings in the house, like some women's 'circle' or something.

Or is it more up to the landlord, for them to install in all their rentals, humidistats and provide dehumidifiers, even if only one party out of scores are guilty of over-steaming up a rental?

I had this problem once. Turns out that, because the hot water was on a common system and the electricity (for heat) was individually metered, the tenants were heating their house with steam!

You need to read the lease you have with them and find if you have an included a general statement of 'other activities that are found to be the proximal cause of damage.' Most leases have them, if you utilized any form of Apartment Association standard lease, or had an attorney draft it for you. Otherwise, simply deal with it until the end of the lease and inform the tenants of your intent not to renew the lease.

Of course, that is only after you used reasonable efforts to talk to them about it, and then send a letter advising them that their actions are causing permanent damage.

I will look into this. Thank you. And while on this subject, I think simply reading the entire lease may be something worth doing. It's like having an insurance policy and never knowing all what it says.