Cash for keys and possible eviction in Atlanta, GA

[Andrew Kim]

I own my house, and have two tenants in it. One tenant is a major problem.  Late rent and utilities, smokes a lot of marijuana in his room, loud when we're sleeping, and the list goes on.  I gave him his 45 days notice that I wouldn't be renewing his lease. He lost it and made all these threats of legal action, which he has nothing to stand on.

I'm now considering giving him cash for keys to clear out in the next week or so.  I will also threaten to evict him when he's late on rent/utilities (5 days, as per the lease agreement) and also evict him if he doesn't get out by the last day of his lease, as I've given him notice to vacate. 

Are there any legal ramifications that can happen towards me? I'm confident that I'm 100% within the law, I just want to know if I'm doing everything by the book.  I know he can sit and not pay rent and it could take some time for the sherriff to actually come get him, but I'm confident that he doesn't want an eviction on his record, as his credit is already completely shot and having an eviction on his record will prohibit any legitimate landlord or apartment complex from renting to him.  Thanks in advance for your insight!

[Nathan Gesner]

You've created a monster.

You say he doesn't want an eviction because his credit is already "completely shot." Actually, if his credit is shot he won't care about another red mark on it. And he's probably not worried about finding a Landlord willing to accept him. He fooled you, so he can probably fool someone else.

You allowed him to pay rent late and the only ramification was a notice of non-renewal. You allowed him to smoke "a lot" of dope in his room (an illegal act in your state) and failed to do anything about it. Pretty much everything you've done to this point has told him he can do what he wants and the only thing you'll do is threaten him.

You can offer him cash-for-keys and buy your way out of this mess but it also rewards the tenant's bad behavior and sets up the next Landlord for failure. My recommendation is that you grow a pair and put your foot down. if you can't do it with this guy, how are you going to do it with the next one?

I think more than 1oz of weed is a felony in your state. If he's smoking as much as you say, call the cops the next time it happens and hope he gets rolled up for a felony. At a minimum, he will be cited for a misdemeanor and that might scare him enough to move out. If he pays rent late, hire an attorney and start the eviction process.