Tenant eviction through an LLC

[Tony Thomas]

Does anyone have experience evicting tenants when the property is held by an LLC? We came across an issue where we were forced to use a lawyer to go through the process of an eviction because the property was listed under an LLC. This added cost over filing it ourselves. Is there a work around to this?

[Gil Wildridge]

It depends on the state. In my state (NJ), if an LLC owned property evicts a tenant, they're required to have legal representation, so the LLC would need to get a landlord/tenant lawyer. That's an expense, but it also makes the process easier.

In places where evictions are quick or pretty open/shut, I'd just ask a court clerk or someone who would know as they've seen it hundreds of times before. It might be that a managing member needs to appear in person or have an authorized agent appear in person, which means you'd need to present the form showing that the authorized agent (like a PM) is allowed to manage the LLC's property (usually those forms are either one page or one page out of a slightly longer landlord registration form).