Can you cover eviction costs in the lease?

[Zachary Martin]

After listening to the all the podcasts and how much of a pain it is to deal with, especially the costs, I was wondering can you put in somewhere in the lease agreement that "if you have to be evicted, you will be responsible for all costs associated, etc"?  If you can, it would probably result in involving a collection agency?

I have a feeling that the answer is probably "no, I wish" but I thought I would ask anyway.

[Aly W.]

My leases have standard language that the tenant is responsible for court costs, legal fees, late fees, etc. But since they didn't pay the rent, they'll have no concern about this either. Even when you win a judgment, the tenant may not be collectible.