Problem tenant stalling for time

[Ming Wan]

Hi,

I've a tenant in Decatur who's now not paid rent for 5 months.When they first became delinquent late last year, my attorney moved forward with filing for eviction. The tenant then applied for TLAC rent relief and my eviction filing has since stalled.

I called the TLAC program - they do want to provide my tenant with relief but they are severely behind on processing cases. I am told they could get to my tenant's case in May 2022.
The problem is that my tenant only applied for rental assistance for 2 months but has now effectively stopped paying further rent and is delinquent by another 3 months. What are my options?

• a) Can I move the courts since the relief amount (if it ever materializes) is lesser than what the tenant now owes? Will the judge be even inclined to hear my case again?
• b) Are there other rent relief programs in Dekalb county that I or my tenant can apply to?
• c) Is cash for keys a good option here? ie I offer to forgive all delinquent rent if the tenant leaves in a month.

I'd love to hear if folks have had similar experiences.
Thanks,

Ming