Sorry, you're getting evicted.

[Account Closed]

Finally going through my first eviction. The last thing I want to do is evict someone. I have an inherited tenant that no matter how much I try to get them in-line, they just won't get it together. I strongly suspect there is a drug problem behind the scenes. Sigh. Sad. There are little kids involved. These people are in their 30's.

I like these people. They live in my house that could use a bit of work and don't complain (much) about it. They keep the house in very good order. My number one requirement is tenants keep my place in good order. So, even though they have been habitually late, I have let them slide. After all, until now they have always paid and, I have avoided doing work and spending money.

This month (June) came with the usual excuses, lies and broken promises. I've gotten used to it and even laugh it off. About mid-month I served the 5-day pay or quit. This is where it gets sad. Instead of simply paying me late, they spend the money, telling me they figured they were getting evicted anyways. The crazy things addiction will convince a person to do.

So, how crazy will their addiction take them now? As it stands, they can hand me keys on Sunday or, I file in court on Monday. They know darn well an eviction on the record means no decent landlord will rent to them. Will their addiction convince them the best choice is to get high as long as possible until the sheriff comes to escort them out? Or will they come to their senses and scramble to find a relatives couch for a month or two? We shall see.

I'd guess this forum has 1000's of threads like this one...

[Jim K.]

@Account Closed

I know parts of this may sound self-serving, but hear me out please, Merritt.

We live in a great country and I say this because I've lived elsewhere and I feel that's been proved to me to my satisfaction. And in this great country, specifically in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the great State of Wisconsin, we have this truly extraordinary thing called a functioning social compact backed by the rule of law.

What I'm getting at is that you don't have what you rightly perceive as the burden of making the decision to evict them. You, as the landlord, bring this contract dispute to a court that is empowered to make that decision. The judge, a person empowered by the local government with a lot of authority, decides, not you.

If that wasn't great enough, the court is a nexus for a lot of other things to happen. You mention that there are little kids involved, with guardians who knowingly can't pay their rent even after months of coddling by you. Are these really fit parents? The court has the resources to help people get involved in that. You mention that there's likely an addiction problem. We all pay the social price for that. The court's going to provide access to methods of treatment if it sees a need.

In the long run, how do you know that you're not making the best and most honorable choice to help those kids? By letting deadbeat tenants repeatedly slide, all you're really doing is further weakening the weak, we all know this. You wouldn't do it to your own children for that reason, I certainly wouldn't do it to mine if I had kids.

For all you know, this eviction may be the most meaningful push to change for your tenants and for their children that you could help bring about. If it isn't, that's for the judge to decide. This is a process, and you're not the entity that has the legal right to make judgments about something so serious as homelessness for these people in this process, and that's how it should be in a great country.

A practical note: take this opportunity to make a good impression on the local magistrate who hears this case and all the parties involved, clerks, cops, etc. All your papers and arguments should be well-organized and you should be easy to work with. It's one of the most important relationships in this business. I hired a lawyer for my first one, and I'll hire him again if I ever get beyond my depth in an eviction. This is a business and a learning expense.