When To Ask A Tenant Who Pays Rent On Time To Leave

Question

As landlords, we are delighted to have tenants who pay their rent on time, but at what point should we ask such a tenant to leave?

I had a tenant who paid her rent on time, but was always very belligerent to me and the upstairs tenant.  I was very busy with my job and the upstairs tenant was afraid of the lower tenant, so she rarely said anything to me.  My gut told me that I needed to ask the belligerent tenant to leave asap (I am very accommodating to tenants' needs, but this woman also had some mental problems).  I ignored my gut feelings and sure enough when November came, she got into a big row with the upper tenant and threatened her with violence.  The belligerent tenant demanded that I ask the upper tenant to move out asap.  Instead, I asked the belligerent tenant to leave and because she was on a month-to-month, I could do so right away.  The only problem was it was winter and I could not get another qualified tenant until March 1st, resulting in me losing 3 months rent.  I believe the belligerent tenant timed it this way on purpose.

The moral of the story is:  if you think that it is time to ask a paying tenant to leave, do it on your own terms, not when you have to or when he/she finally causes a problem.  As landlords, we need to be in the driver's seat at all times.  Had I followed my gut feelings, I would have gotten rid of her in the summer and gotten the unit re-rented right away.

Marcia Maynard · Answer

James R. Hindsight. Lessons learned. Good reflection. Not acting swiftly enough and not timing our decisions better has cost us before too. I feel for you.

Last year we had a tenant who always paid rent on time but caused way too much drama with noisy visitors, unsupervised destructive children, and disregard for our property.  We tried to work with her way too long. After numerous neighbor complaints and a lot of property damage, it was when she swore at me that I finally woke up to reality and said to her, "This isn't working for us, time to work on a move-out plan." She was gone within a month without the need to file for an eviction.

It is our goal to do quarterly reviews of properties, not only for maintenance/improvement needs but also for evaluating how well the tenants are abiding by the terms of our rental agreement. We put our values up front: safe, clean, affordable, comfortable, quiet housing for responsible renters in the community we serve. That helps us keep on target. Also, responding to issues in a manner that is swift, fair, firm, and polite is paramount.

James R. · Answer

Kevin,

I like how you have other ways of getting in the property to do a check.  I don't think that tenants respond very well when they are told that the landlord is stopping by to do a quarterly inspection, unless you have discussed this with them and they have no problems with the intrusion.  However, just the word inspection sounds almost as if you don't trust them.

Your method of getting in to look around is much more appealing and sounds like you are just being a good landlord and looking out for your tenants best interest.

In regard to asking tenants to leave, when your gut tells you it's time to take action, it is better to do it, because like you said, it could end up costing a lot of money in the long run, as it did in my and your situation.

Landlords should never talk themselves out of asking tenants to leave because it's a pain to find a new tenant.  It's a much bigger pain to deal with the situation once it gets out of hand and ends up costing a lot more money.

Account Closed · Answer

Personally, I think quarterly inspections are too often, and feel intrusive to tenants.  Every 6 months is less likely to cause a tenant to feel like you're too intrusive.

I put up with quarterly inspections now, because they are required by the govt agencies who subsidize the senior housing I'm in.  If it wasn't the govt, I wouldn't put up with it.

Tenants will be okay with you coming in to check their smoke detector batteries and check for leaks every 6 months.  But, how do you explain the necessity to invade their homes every 3 months?

Think about what you would be okay with.  Yes, you need to protect your investment, but you also need to provide a "home" for your tenants, or they will leave.  If they feel like they are your serfs, they won't be happy campers.

That said, if the only thing that mattered in your agreement with a tenant was that they paid on time, you could write your contract on an index card.  There are a lot more clauses they have to adhere to in order to be in compliance with the lease.  Paying on time is only one item of many that can be a material breach of a contract, that they can be terminated over.

Kevin Smith · Answer

I had one inherited tenant that was off and on a pain. I wanted to get rid of her but wife insisted on keeping her, cost us big in the long run. From now on if one of us says they go their gone.

As far as inspections go, I change furnace filters and check under sinks every 3 months, you cannot count on tenants to do this. if I see any thing that catches my attention I can do a electrical outlet test to get in rest of house. I tell potential tenants up front and have had no problems.

James R. · Answer

Marcia,

Thanks for your comment.  I like that you do quarterly reviews/inspections.  I only do a once-a-year inspection, in addition to the other visits to maintain the property, but sometimes I can go a year without a call with a problem.  This is sometimes good and sometimes bad.  I like your approach!  You are right, i.e. lessons learned!

When To Ask A Tenant Who Pays Rent On Time To Leave

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