General Landlording & Rental Properties
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies
Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal
Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 6 years ago, 04/11/2018
to proceed with eviction or settle
My property manager locked out a tenant and started eviction proceedings, since the tenant was behind on rent repeatedly. The tenant had ~4 years left on the lease. Tenant moved out all her belongings, and is requesting that we stop eviction proceedings. She is also requesting that we waive her balance. I am okay with not having the eviction record follow her. The balance she owes is not too big. Any thoughts?
#2 General Landlording & Rental Properties Contributor
What is in it for you if you agree to her request. There does not seem to be any settlement since she walks away free. IF she wants you to drop the eviction force her to pay the back rent otherwise tell her no way. Don't let dirtbags off scott free.
Based on it being a 4 year lease I assume this is a commercial tenant.
Evictions can be expensive. Think how much you will save now by not going thru the eviction process?
Your PM locked out the tenant ? What exactly did they do ? While a landlord can change the locks on a tenant in Texas, the have to make a key readily available to the tenant.
I would agree to drop it for the these reasons:
-the tenant has already surrendered possession
-If they show up in court you might not like the result if an illegal lockout occurred
-The likelyhood of collection of a judgment in Texas is very slim
I would offer to settle in writing for the forfeiture of the deposit
#2 General Landlording & Rental Properties Contributor
Evictions are part of doing business. If you do not evict bad tenants they never learn and simply move on to their next landlord and do the same thing again. As a landlord you have responsibilities to everyone. Avoidance is no way to operate a professional business. Hobby landlords are bad enough don't give professional landlords a bad name as well.
Originally posted by @Bharath Raj:
My property manager locked out a tenant and started eviction proceedings, since the tenant was behind on rent repeatedly. The tenant had ~4 years left on the lease. Tenant moved out all her belongings, and is requesting that we stop eviction proceedings. She is also requesting that we waive her balance. I am okay with not having the eviction record follow her. The balance she owes is not too big. Any thoughts?
Not an attorney, and this isn't legal advice, but I believe your property manager broke the law, you cant just change the locks on a tenant to get them out.
You should have gone thru the eviction process or at the very least have gotten a signature to terminate the lease.
As another poster mentioned, you don't want to go to court with the facts as you have given them to us. Settle and get out of a bad situation and imo find another property manager.
It’s both worth the headache and fees. Just move on if the tenant agrees as well.
My PM is saying that the lockout was entirely legal and they consulted with their attorney. The office is not trashed and the tenant has moved out with all her possessions. Eviction proceedings have been filed, but I have decided to not pursue it. Instead, I have asked my PM to draft a document that waives her balance & terminates her lease with immediate effect. I agree that this may not be worth the headache & the possibility of the courts viewing this differently.