Eviction And Collection Of Rent
I have a tenant that I gave a 30 day notice to terminate their tnancy on the 19th of Aug. Rent is usually due on the first. They are going to fight the eviction. Do I collect partial rent for Sept. (to the 19th) or no rent at all?
Get an eviction attorney and have them handle it. Your chances of doing it correctly yourself are about zero. It will end up costing you more money (because of the time delay from having to do it several times because you messed up) if you do the eviction yourself. Almost no landlords, even seasoned landlords, do their own evictions.
Brenda
I would talk to an eviction lawyer or processor, some states say that you cannot accept partial payment if you are evicting them
We handle all of our evictions and never accept partial payments. We never get an attorney.
My first option would be to take the rent out of the security deposit. I might just write off the rent as a loss. It might be more trouble than it is worth to get it back. When I evicted my last tenant, I was just glad to see hime go.
You didn't mention why you are terminating their lease: was it non-payment of rent or some other breach of their lease?
Also, have you talked with them at all, to see what can be done to work this out, rather than eviction?
There's been some mention on TCI about working with your tenants to get them to move out--like giving them moving money or helping them find another place--that some have said is cheaper than going the eviction route. For example, if they're going to fight you on this, you don't know what condition the place is going to be in when you finally get them out (not to mention attorney fees, lost revenue, etc.).
Not a landlord, just my .03,
Andy
I like the idea of talk to the tenants and maybe help them move out, giving some money etc.
In case it doesn't work out, seek attorney or eviction expert is a good option but can be costly if the tenants do bad things to your place.
Now is it law violation if tenants trash a rental intentially. How can you deal with this common issue? I would want to file suit against, collect wage garnishment, report to credit agencies etc.
Are there some good tips to prevent this from happening the first place?
I would never help tenants move out because our evictions always wind up with the tenants owing us a lot of money. There's usually damages to the unit also.
Hello!
Here's what we do.
First day late, there's a five day notice that we give to the folks. Before they even have it, we call the City and get a date for court. The five day demand has the court date in it.
In the mean time, my friend Mario knocks on their door daily til we get the rent or we go to court. If they don't leave after the court date, I get a Coke, my lawn chair and set it in the front yard and Mario moves them out. Hey, I have the court order in my hand. Any expenses I have are then charged against them.
Sometimes we just break their lease, they move, we clean, and they're happy.
We never use a lawyer. We do it ourself.
Thanks,
OnTheWater :-D
Does Mario work for the Sheriff's office or am I missing something? :-D
very good question mark, I would like to get the answer as well, maybe we could all get mario to work for us.
Hello,
We all have access to "Mario."
Go -I'm serious- to your local beef-cake gym. Choose accordingly.
Hey, it works.
Thanks,
OTW :-D
I am assuming that you are terminating the lease for reasons other than non-payment since you gave a 30 day notice (in CA landlords must give tenant a 60 day notice if tenant has occupied for over one year) and not a 3 (in CA ) or 7 ( in some states) day notice to pay or quit.
Most leases revert to month-to-month automatically at the end of the lease period. In many states you need not give a reason to terminate the tenancy after the lease period. After the lease period either party can give adequate notice of termination usually without giving reason (there are some local eviction control ordinances to the contrary). You are still entitled to collect rent until the date of termination of the lease.
If you are within the lease period and are evicting, you will likely need to show that the tenant broke one or more terms of the lease.
If the 30 day period passes and the tenant refuses to move, you will likely need to follow some judicial procedure. In CA it is a law suit called an unlawful detainer. If the suit is not answered within 5 days then tenant automatically loses and an order to move may be posted by the sheriff. If they answer, you may wind up in court.
I have given 60 day notices, but have always left unlawful detainers in the hands of attorneys. The danger in doing it yourself is that evictions fall under summary judgement law and all i's must be dotted and t's crossed. Any mistake and you will likely need to do it again.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Ed
The tenants are being evicted for two reasons. A while back the husband informed me that the wife is doing drugs. I'm not cool with that. Secondly, they are always late on rent. Today the tenants had the building inspector cite me on a few violations. The water heater wasn't properly vented. The carport was in poor condition. The linoleum in the bathroom floor was in poor condition. A couple wiring issues in the attic. I served these tenants their 30 day notice before I was made aware of any of these problems. Can I still evict them?
Most leases will have conditions that all state, federal, local laws must not be violated or this is a breach. In addition some leases specifically state that drug use is grounds for immediate eviction.
The late rent should be dealt with using three day notices with associated late fees and costs (to the tenant) of serving the three day. Again, this needs to be in the lease. Some leases specify that continuing tardiness on rent is grounds for termination of the lease.
Are any of these in your lease? Also, are you within one year of the beginning of the tenancy, so a 30 day notice is valid? If not, it will likely get thrown out if you go to court.
Your tenants' remedies for non-habitability do not include doing drugs or paying late rent. Other than the wiring or any safety issues with the carport what you describe does not seem to border on non-habitability. If you respond and fix these right away indicating that you are responding in a reasonable time after notification, this should not be an issue.
From what you said you are likely to have stronger evidence on the habitual late rent than you will on the drug issue. My rent checks are mailed and I save the envelopes on late payors so I have the postmark as evidence.
If you would like to send me a Private Message with your phone number, I will be happy to discuss this further with you.
Regards,
Ed
In florida if the tenant gives you written notice that they are not paying because you didn't fix things your are supposed to in a timely manner(7 days) then the judge could and probably will rule against you. I don't know about NY though.
Kyle Burke