Whats the most effective way to recover past due rent?

Question

I have a couple tenants that are in my 4 unit, I let them move in without it being certified. They examined the apartments and liked them, paid some of the deposit  with a promise to pay the rest the next day, moved in, didn't pay, served them a "7 days to vacate" for non- payment of rent, 45 days later the judge dismissed the case due to wrong complaint form, so I served them a 30 day "End of tenancy", I have court in 2 weeks, I'm sure they will ask for a trial again to get 2 more weeks free rent, but when they are out, what's the best way to pursue a lawsuit aginst them. It will be approx 3 1/2 months they will be there without paying rent.

Roy N. · Answer

@Stephan Haas

As you know doubt now realize, the best resolution was to have thoroughly screened your prospective tenants.  Rule #1: Money (deposit & first month) before keys. Rule #2 - See rule #1.

In all seriousness, it sounds like you may have a couple of semi-professional tenants on your hands.  Getting them out now is the top priority.

After they are out, if you want to pursue a judgement against them, by all means go for it ... you'll undoubtedly get the judgement, but probably never collect on it ... so it may not be your best use of resources.   Yes, it will go on their record, but they just look for another landlord who won't check and pull the same stunt again.

Wesly Aldrich · Answer

1st lesson I learned as a landlord... never let a tenant move in with a "promise" of deposit or first months rent, once they are in, they have the upper hand and know it.  I have learned this the hard way.  Many renters have worked the system.  New York State is strict, we have to serve a 3 day notice to pay or quit, then after 30 days of no payment we can serve a 30 day notice (before the first of the month) with a court date, show up to court and as long as all your paperwork is done properly the judge for file an eviction summons and judgment against the tenant that has to be served by a county Sheriff.  If their are kids in the house they can ask for a few more days or weeks to find proper housing.  The judgment the judge files is important for future collections of past due rent, this can be used to pursue the tenant in small claims court at a later time.  However you will most likely never see your money or find that it is worth it to chase it down.  It is best to cut your losses and move on and properly screen your tenants in the future.  Also stand strong and have a "show me the money" or move on policy after you find the right tenants.  Never, ever let a tenant move in early without paying at the very least first months rent and full security deposit.

Michael G. · Answer

Hello Stephan - Stings a little doesn’t it? A lot of us landlords go through exactly what you are going through. Most of us learn just like you…the hard way. As for the recovery of lost rent, I’ll get to that in a minute.

My last episode with an eviction included some sob story about something or the other. I echo the other posters sentiment. You gotta get the 1st rent and the security deposit my friend. No if’s ands or buts.

Tenants are super creative with their stories. Whatever you do....don’t take any stories as substitute for the rent. EVER. If the rent is late you need to serve the 3 day notice (or whatever it is in your jurisdiction) IMMEDIATELY. If they pay. Great. If they don’t then you have to follow through with the eviction. Every day that you give them a pass leads to a further delay in your eviction process. So if they say "Don't worry Mr. Haas. I'll have the rent in a week. (They won’t)" you just delayed yourself a week in your eviction process. Which means you are that much further away from getting yourself a new tenant. You have to follow the process or you will get the short end of the stick.

Good luck with trying to recover the back rent. First you have to find out where they skipped off to so you can have them served them with papers. Then if you have to find out where they now work so you can have their wages garnished. It’s a royal PITA.

The best offense is a good defense. Don't deviate from the rules or you will have smaller pockets not bigger pockets.

If you are unfamiliar with your local eviction process, get familiar with it. Find yourself an attorney that won’t charge you a retainer just to explain the eviction process to you and consider using that attorney to file your evictions. Like another poster mentioned, if you don't follow the letter of the law you will spin your wheels and waste valuable time and effort doing what you thought was right the wrong way…just to have your case dismissed. All while these crafty tenants are living in your property. It will make you sick to your stomach.

I wish I could say I haven’t but I’ve been down this road a few times since 2005 and have been burned repeatedly trying to do the right thing and cut my story telling tenants a break. Hint – The better the story sounds. The quicker you should get that 3 day notice ready.

Simple motto I live by. You don’t pay…you don’t stay!

Linval T. · Answer

@Stephan Haas

Ironically, i read the below post a few days ago and it certainly corroborates what you are experiencing.

Originally posted by @Clay Powell:

I've been around landlords for over 16 years. The side benefit of that is I hear all the reasons why something went awry—especially with eviction cases. Here are the top five reasons that landlords I know say they lost their case:

• They used the wrong form for the type of eviction they were attempting to do, e.g. they used a Notice to Quit, Termination of Tenancy form instead of a Demand for Possession, Non-Payment of Rent form.
• They didn’t give the tenant the proper amount of notice (in terms of days) for the type of eviction they were doing. The number of days differs for the type of eviction and by how the notice was served.
• Their lease wasn’t up to snuff. The lease was either missing important terms required within the state or included terms that were flat out illegal.
• Their unit was not currently registered and certified. If the tenant complains about the unit not being up to code and it isn’t, the case could be completely thrown out. (Worse yet: the judge could rule that the landlord owes the tenant all the paid rent since the beginning of the lease since the unit was not legal.)
• They went and shot their mouth off. It doesn’t take much to say the wrong thing. “But your Honor, they are not only late with the rent, they party all the time.” Judge’s response: “So, you’re saying that you want to evict them for partying—not for non-payment? In that case, you used the wrong notice form. Case dismissed.” Believe me; the list of wrong things that can be said is endless.

OK, I can’t help but include one more: They did the wrong type of eviction for the problem at hand.

This topic could be expanded to include those little errors in the process that delayed judgment or prevented the landlord from getting the judgment they were expecting. But, I'll stay focused for now.

Happy evicting!

Stephan Haas · Answer

I have learned a lot from all of this....and need to just say "NOPE"

Whats the most effective way to recover past due rent?

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