Dear folks ,
Can anybody teach me how to evict tenant who is on month to month basis lease? can you recommend some quick way to evict if the person doesn’t want to pay rent nor does he want to vacate?
I was also reported that somebody tried to break into tenants’ apartments, is there any way to protect tenant? I called police dept, asking they put on security watch on my property, but not sure if it can solve the problem.
Thank you! any thoughts will be deeply appreciated!
but file a rent and possession law suit may take 30 days to get court order. Is there any other quick way to do it ?
Or you can save yourself the hassle and the expense of not getting rent from that unit while the tenant is still there by just paying the person to get out. Give them a time frame and tell them the longer they wait to leave the less money they will get.
so if they take 1 week to leave they get $400. 2 weeks $300 3 weeks $200. You get the picture.
Missy
There are two problems with paying a tenant to leave.
First, it sets a TERRIBLE example for your other tenants. Tenants talk to each other and pretty soon it will be common knowledge that you are a weak landlord. Expect a lot of abuse from your tenants.
Second, it wastes time by allowing tenants to live rent free longer before you file the eviction. Many non-paying tenants don’t act rationally. They will lie directly to you and start playing the delay game. If you say “I’ll pay you $300 if you’re out in 1 week, $200 if you’re out in 2 weeks, and $100 if you’re out in 3 weeks” - you’re tenant heard you say that they can stay another 3 weeks rent free. At the end of that 3 weeks, they’ll promise to be out in another week. The lies never end and you’ll be stuck with a lot lost time and money. Finally, you’ll have to evict to get them out.
If you want them out, IMMEDIATELY give them a 3 day notice (or whatever is required in your state). Tell them that if they’re not out in 3 days, you’re not only going to evict them but sue them for damages - AND THEN FOLLOW THROUGH! Remind them that this will put an eviction on their record which will damage their credit and make it difficult to find another place to live.
Unfortunately, this is the only legal way to get a non-paying tenant out. If you’re going to be in the rental business, you will be doing this frequently.
Good Luck,
Mike
I would look for landlord tenant laws for your state 1st
In AZ it is not always that easy yet I hear of some prop magmt comps. doing illegal stuff all the time
I only do month to month so that I can kick them out more easily if necessary
I also have a very specific month to month agreement… says no illegal activities (covers a big area) , be considereate of neighbors by being quite - keep property clean etc- no more than 5 days late with rent, etc… that if they violate any of these they may be asked to leave immediately…
I have also found it is best to avoid getting emotional… there are many tenants who will cause property damage while moving out as revenge
would it hold up if they took me to court? did once that was the only time I had to worry… I won
I think being specific & hard nosed in the beginning is good… you can be a nice guy after they have your respect, unless you kick them out 
…
as far as paying them to leave… I did that last year with a single family home when trying to sell it & tenants were such a detriment… made them sign a paper releasing us of resposibility blah blah… bad part is I had every reason to evict them earlier & didn’t listen to myself…
but the place sold right after they moved too…
propertymanager is right. Always start the eviction process on every single person that is late, be it an honest mistake of deadbeat. Eviction takes as long as it takes and the more time you waste getting started just makes it longer. You should always get a lease. If the tenant wants to lease month to month, get a lease that renews unless cancelled buy giving 30 days written notice. This lease spells out when they pay and how they get evicted. Handle them just as if they had a 12 month lease.
Dear all,
Thank you so much for the answers!
Please let me ask some further questions:
How to file dispossessary warrant?
Let me guess, please correct me if I am wrong.
I need to go to local circuit court, asking clerk about the warrant and
they will let me file a dispossessary affidavit and I pay them some money, then they will mail me the warrant, Correct?
suppose everything is correct, then:
2.Normally how long to get the final dispossessary warrant after I file the dispossessary affidavit?
3.After I have the dispossessary warrant, can I remove the tenants and their belongings or I have to let Sherif department to do? If the latter, I just call them and show them the warrant, then police will evict tenants for me ? Do I need to pay them?
Thank you. Please tell me more details.
I am deeply appreciated!
Donald,
Eviction laws vary by state, so I would strongly advise you to hire an attorney to help you with the first one. Here in Ohio, you MUST use an attorney if the property is owned by an entity (such as LLC, corp, etc). Making a paperwork or procedural mistake will result in the eviction being stopped and you’ll have to start over (including paying a new filing fee).
You can NOT go around the legal eviction procedure regardless of what your lease says. BTW, your lease needs improvement. Allowing the tenant until the 15th to pay the rent is a very bad choice. That just wastes a lot of time. Change your lease to give the tenant until the 3rd or 4th!
Here’s how the typical eviction works:
In Ohio, you can file a “second cause of action” with the eviction. This allows you to be awarded money damages. The money hearing occurs after the eviction hearing. I always file the second cause of action along with the eviction.
CHANGE THE LOCKS IMMEDIATELY!
Start repairing the damage and move on!
That’s about it.
Good Luck,
Mike
property manager:
Thank you very much for teach me in such details.
I checked missouri state law and found that it looks like here we may need one month notice to evict! Am I wrong???
So you guys just need to wait 3 days, and I have to wait 30 days to file a law suit? and wait another 30 days for court date…
seems like I need to spend at least 60 days waiting and those deadbeats can enjoy free housing. But I won’t do the illegal self-help eviction anyway.
I saw lots of landlord in MO using month to month lease, but I don’t know why that type of lease is easier to get rid of bad people.
As I said earlier in my post - I agree - check your state laws - ask a paralegal if not an attny. check with other landlords.
AZ used to be 30 days years ago… was totally in favor of the tenant… now alittle protection for the landlord is out there
This may not help now but one thing I do that helps keep rent timely is start rent a little high - $10-$20 more than I think i would normally charge. Of course don’t tell that to the tenant…
make late fees pretty stiff
then offer a discount if they pay 2-3 days early
I have done that a lot with good success & my tenants love me :