When Can I Evict a Tenant?

When should a landlord begin the eviction process for a bad tenant? Take a peek at results from our property managers opinion poll...

Landlords typically begin the eviction process when a legal term has been violated that has been outlined in the tenant's lease agreement. If you decide to begin the eviction process, you should have detailed records that will help your case in a court of law.

The top 5 reasons to start the eviction process include:

#1- Failure to pay rent

#2- Serious damage to the property

#3- Criminal activities performed by the tenant

#4- Repeated late or partial payment of monthly charges

#5- Repeated returned checks for non-sufficient funds (NSF)

Save yourself the headache of explaining your eviction process to tenant's by including it in a tenant handbook provided to tenants during move-in or by including it in your lease agreement. Evicting a tenant can be a long and painful process during which you are not receiving rent and the tenant can cause costly damage to your unit. Be sure to outline your standard eviction process and share it with your entire management team. It's always better to offer tenant's an alternative process than threatening an immediate eviction. Suggested alternatives include:

1. Payment Plans for Past Due Charges. Breakdown the amount owed into manageable installments. You can even offer these delinquent tenants with payment vouchers to remind them of when these installments are due.

2. Negotiate a Move-Out Deal. Cut a deal with the tenant to forgive portions of the total amount owed if they move out of the unit immediately. If your property has additional storage space, you might want to offer holding some of their belongings on site until they can find another place to live.

Things You Want to Avoid
It is important to check with your local governances to ensure there are no specific rules for handling an eviction. In general, it is illegal to do the following:

*Lock out the tenant
*Threaten or harm the tenant
*Enter the tenant's unit and remove the tenant's belongings
*Disconnect the utilities to the unit

If you are forced to evict a tenant, be sure to remain calm and prepare yourself for a process that could take a period of several weeks or several months. It is strongly recommended to involve the local authorities and an attorney that specializes in eviction cases when dealing with extreme scenarios.