Tenant Eviction

[Atul Mohlajee]

I filed 5 day notice followed by eviction as pro se (on my own) when the tenant did not pay February rent. At the fisrst court date on March 7, the tenant showed up with a lawyer. His lawyer asked the judge that he wants to file a motion to discover. The judge gave him utill March 25 for second court date. Rent is $2150/month and I want him gone soon. I hired a lawyer and am going to second court date on March 25 with my lawyer. The house was given to him in a great shape. His kids wrote over walls and carpetting is very dirty. Althought the house was painted and carpets professionally cleaned before he moved in. His maintenance requests were (2 while he lived there for 18 months) were addressed right away. His wife left nhim along with kids on July 2013and he had his brother and family move in with him on July 2013. His brother was not on lease and he did not tell me either but I found out from neighbors. The sheriff actually served summons to his brother. What is your experience with motion to discover that will be filed by his lawyer except it is a delaying tactic. His lawyer told me to make a deal as it would be a while before I get him to move out. I told him no deal unless it involves February/March rents. I told him that I am well capitalized and willing to fight. He paid fine in his first 12 months but has been late in paying since August 2013. He lost his 6 figures job and landed another one making half as much. He made promises after I gave him a 5 day notice that he will make good on it and that he has always paid his rent (as if he is paying me charity), but luckily I told him to Show me the money or Court. He could promise to be out in March end and then choose to stay and have me start the process late in the game. Anybody with similar experience especially with nmotion to discover filed by his lawyer.

[Marcia Maynard]

@Atul Mohlajee If you had tried to negotiate with your tenant earlier on, perhaps offering cash for keys instead of saying "Show me the money or Court", could it have turned out differently? Perhaps saving you from the stress, time and money of going through a court process and avoiding the extra rent loss you incur while your property is tied up?

I find whenever a tenant has a big life changing event (job loss, breakup, death in the family, etc.) and can not meet the obligations of the the rental agreement, I need to meet with them right away. Preferably at the rental unit. The tenant needs to either turn it around or prepare to move out. I try my best to show some compassion while still remaining firm and fair. This has worked out best for both me and the tenant.

If it is not likely the tenant can turn it around, I offer to work with them on a move-out plan. Never had to offer cash for keys, but I keep that in my tool kit. I've been a landlord for 19 years now and we have 15 rental units.... only had to evict through the court once. Our evictions only take about a month, but they cost $600-$800; so that's enough incentive for me to go the alternative route.

This is what I see in your case. You said your tenant has been paying late since August of 2013. That would have been a good time to talk with him about his ability to meet the terms of the rental agreement, to do a unit inspection, and to hold him accountable.

When a tenant breaks a rental agreement term, we do a unit inspection because 9 times out of 10 they are breaking another rule. Unauthorized occupants? Damages? If damages, I charge for them right away, before next rent is due.

By addressing that one item, late rent, with a site visit and inspection in August 2013, you would have been able to look for the root cause of the change in his behavior and perhaps would have discovered the events of July 2013 at that time, including the move-in of his brother and family. With more knowledge sooner, you may have been able to nip this before it got out of hand. I wish you the best as you sort this out now. Good luck.

Some tenancies will go south for whatever reason. As long as we can encourage non-conforming tenants to move on without them turning on us, and without them destroying our property or digging in their heels or costing us more money, then it's a win.