Rental House Being Raided By Police.
Hello all,
A couple of people on the same street as my tenant have told me they believe he is selling drugs. They believe the police are aware. My lease says the tenant is subject to immediate eviction if doing anything illegal on the property.
Does anyone have any experience with this? Ideas?
JohnCl
Dear John,
You could go with the Attorney General's $200 Eviction Special. Here in TN, a landlord, who has proof the tenant is drug dealing, can go to the police and keep his identity secret. The Attorney General can help him evict and the landlord will be charged for the Attorney General's cost and expense for removing the tenant's things. ( the $200).
I'm not sure if you have a similar Special in GA, but it's worth checking out, and I think it may be the best $200 you could spend. (The downside is it's only good for drugs and prostitution, but we take what we can get).
Cordially,
Alice
No proof. Just hearsay right now.
JohnCl
I had one like this and I think you have to be careful.
What would happen if you confronted the tenant? They would deny it and until you have proof you cannot evict them.
Think about this, if you confront them, and they then get arrested and sent to prison, who do you think they will suspect for turning them in, and possibly go after once they get out?
It certainly isn't worth the risk to my family. I chose to wait until they were arrested and then take the property back the easy way.
[addsig]
Dear John,
I definately wouldn't confront them. I'd get the evidence first. You can't depend on the neighbors either because many people are not ready for prime time court. People who are fearful will not testify.
If it is a major serious problem, try to get into the unit and see for yourself what is going on. One of the sneakier ways of doing that is to go in to inspect something like the batteries in the smoke detector or the air conditioning filters. You really do see the sights sometimes- accidently, of course. (That's if you're not too afraid to go in).
I would contact the police and ask them what they would recommend and how to gather the evidence. I'm sure the police will be willing to work with you.
Cordially,
Alice
This may depend on how leases work in your state. My CA leases are one year long and revert to month-to-month automatically at the end of a year if neither party terminates. My lease also has paragraphs indicating that drug usage is subject to immediate eviction.
I evicted after giving a written warning for drug use and other lease violations. I was in the month-to-month phase of the lease so I evicted with a 60 day notice of intent to terminate the lease without giving cause. Had I been within the one year lease period, I would have given direct testimony since I caught the tenant using drugs.
I would think that if there is police activity involved, there would be documented evidence for an eviction. If you are concerned about retaliation then the suggestions of Alice may be more appropriate.
Let the police handle this matter. If they do get arrested for this, than you should have no problem getting them out. Your in the landlording business not the DEA. It's not worth getting shot.
Two Landlords I know have had similar situations...
1. He went into the guys unit to investigate what was stinking up the hallway (the guy wasn't home and it stunk) and found a bunch of illegal drugs...he goes to the police "my tenant has possession of alot of illegal drugs, can you arrest him", "well, you didn't actually ask him to go into the unit or give notice, so we are basing our knowledge on your illegal search..." --> never got rid of him from what I know.
2. Police raided this house a guy owned, busted the door down, busted a few windows, and tore the place up looking for drugs and things...then they wouldn't let him clean it out or anything for something like a month or two because it was now a crime scene for the manufacture of meth....It was a pain in his you know what...
Just an FYI...I'd just try to get them out without involving the drugs at all...increase the rent...say your going to be doing renovations so you need the unit vacant...you get the idea
rmdane,
Looks like that's where we are (#2). Police (SWAT) raided the house last night. Had a voice message late last night from the police department teling me they were boarding up the windows that were destroyed in the raid.
Hopefully I am able to evict him immediately, put his stuff on the street, fix the house and get it back on the market. I should know more today. Sounds like it depends on whether or not the police have designated the house a "crime scene" or not.
Also, just arresting someone doesn't mean they are guilty in this wonderful country of ours. Do I have to wait until the judge sentences him? Just go ahead and file eviction the normal way (he didn't pay his rent)? Obviously, I would prefer the immediate eviction approach.
Paragraph in Rental Agreement:
5. USE: The premises shall be used solely as a residence and shall be occupied only by persons named as the aforementioned RESIDENTS in this Agreement. Occupancy by guests staying over seven days will be in violation of this provision. No pets of any kind shall be brought on the premises without the prior written consent of the Management. Resident shall not have a waterbed on the premises without prior written consent of the Management. Resident shall comply with the laws, ordinances, restrictions, and regulations of any relevant governmental body. Resident shall not use the premises or permit it to be used for any unlawful purpose including, but not limited to, use, sale, possession, or distribution of illegal drugs or any other violations of any law regarding controlled substances. Such activity on the premises shall constitute an event of default under the Agreement and Management may, at its option, terminate this agreement and resident shall be subject to immediate eviction. Management, upon suspicion of such illegal activity, shall immediately notify and cooperate with the appropriate authorities, and any such action by Management shall not be construed as an invasion of resident's privacy. Resident waives any claim for trespass, defamation, or invasion of privacy against Management when Management is cooperating with police or other duly constituted authorities.