Tenant not evacuating the apartment after 3 months

[Matt N.]

Hi BiggerPockets members, I inherited a section 8 tenant when I bought a house in DC. In October she had filed for an unscheduled Inspection. The apartment failed inspection and I arranged for the repairs to be made but the tenant would not cooperate. She didn’t communicate seriously and did not commit to a timeframe in advance so that I could schedule the repair crew. The time allowed for repairs passed and I don’t know how the inspector made the failing final. This means no rent for the landlord and the tenant has to evacuate. But the tenant hasn’t evacuated and I have lost three months of rent. I want to settle with her with the cash for keys method so I offered her $500 but she said $1,000. Now I have agreed with $1,000 but she says this is not enough and wants to file a lawsuit against me for damage from mildew and water leak! She has already found another place to live but isn’t evacuating my apartment. Some of her stuff are still in the apartment. What do you suggest I do? 1. Throw her stuff on the street and let her go forward with her lawsuit process? 2. Give her $1,000 and have her take her stuff and let her go forward with her lawsuit? 3. Ask her how much she wants and accept it? 4. Do you have any better option?

[Matthew Olszak]

@Matt N.

Lawyer time. Give it one final shot - ask how much she needs to be out by Monday. In the mean-time, get on the phone with attorneys who represent LANDLORDS and get appointments set for Monday morning to protect your rights.

In the future, don't ask permission to enter. Post notice of your intent to enter under the time-frame prescribed by law, be it 24 or 48 hrs or howevermuch time. Then you and your repair crew enter. If they refuse to allow you entry, you file an eviction. In most jurisdictions "emergency" items like those that are likely tying up your section 8 payments need no notice and you can enter to repair asap.