How To Evict a Tenant?

Discussion in 'Landlord & Rental Property Questions' started by Rainman, Oct 15, 2014.

  1. Rainman

    Rainman Senior Investor

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    It may get to a point where you need to evict a tenant for either failing to pay rent, violating terms of the lease or whatever other reason the landlord feels is a valid reason for evicting the said tenant. I've heard of cases where tenants sue landlords for having been evicted so I'd rather avoid all that legal hassle. Is there some procedure to be followed when evicting a tenant?
     
  2. downloads

    downloads Well-Known Member

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    You would have to check first with your state and other local laws because there will be specific eviction procedures you have to follow. Obviously it has to be a very egregious violation that is clearly against the terms of the lease. And you don't want to this if they are only one day late on rent. Some places require at least three months of non-payment to start the eviction procedure. In any case, you want to give them plenty of warnings and notices so they fully acknowledge what the situation. You can contact your local police and they will put up a formal eviction notice and at that point you need to change the locks. You can also talk to a real estate attorney to make sure you follow proper procedure.
     
  3. Peninha

    Peninha Senior Investor

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    Sometimes that can turn into a real bureaucratic nightmare, at least in my country, time is always on the side of the infraction.
     
  4. dianethare

    dianethare Senior Investor

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    Let me relay in my real time story of what happened, {never evict in anger, for in such moments you are going to be rash and its going to be UGLY}....so i call the tenant on the phone and tell him to get out of my property because he is actually messing it up, then comes the heated argument, at this juncture i realize i should have served him with a written notice instead, the tenant becomes defensive saying he'll leave when he wants, i now call in reinforcement, which to my awe, works very well as he has no option but to pack up and leave...in a nutshell critical lessons learnt; when evicting a tenant, send him/her a written notice, have a copy to give the governing bodies in your area as well so that in the event of any weird behavior, you have strong back up required...luckily i now have awesome professional real estate agents to deal with that headache :)
     
  5. JR Ewing

    JR Ewing Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Consult with your attorney and follow the letter of the law 100%. And don't hesitate to bring the police in if it comes to that point or otherwise looks like it will get nasty.
     
  6. Determined2014

    Determined2014 Guest

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    Yes be sure to get an attorney and follow the rules, the rental tribunal tends to favor the tenants a lot of the times, I had a tenant one time who was in arrears, I gave him notices regarding his arrears, he did not respond, I then gave him an eviction notice of 90 days, what do you know! he took me to the rental tribunal court and he was given another extra 3 months to live on my property for free while he looked for another place to stay.
     
  7. Strykstar

    Strykstar Well-Known Member

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    This is one of those cases where an attorney is a necessity, not just recommended.
    I think you need to send a registered letter with at least 30 days notice, or a differrent number of days depending on what is on the lease.
    But there might be some complications after this so check with your attorney.
     
  8. Muthoni

    Muthoni Guest

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    It will depend on the guidelines set in your region how you can evict a tenant. Where I come from, a landlord can give a tenant a notice to vacate their premises at the end of the month. The landlord must be ready to hand over the rent, electricity and water deposits at the agreed time. If there is a contract signed before moving in, then a landlord can choose not to renew the contract when it expires.
     
  9. Gelsemium

    Gelsemium Senior Investor

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    This is the correct procedure, the main issue is that this takes time and time is money for the owners...
     
  10. Strykstar

    Strykstar Well-Known Member

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    Well whatever time he stays in the house after the date you set for his eviction, he is liable to pay for those days of course, especially since you're having lawyers involved and possibly going to court.
     

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