I made a mistake! Notice to vacate

[Amanda A.]

I gave my tenant notice to vacate, thinking they were month-to-month. They're not.

I had all of my tenants set to expire on August 31, 2019 (or so I thought). After, they were moved to month-to-month automatically. This tenant slipped through the cracks...their lease expires in February 2020! They haven't paid rent in 2 months, their dog has chewed a hole in the wall from the bedroom into the living room, and I was going to cut my losses. I've already made the mistake of not checking my lease one last time to be sure, and I should have checked my lease yet again. I get that. How do I move forward now? I don't want these tenants here. Now I feel like eviction is my only option, and I'm not sure what kind of repercussions I could face from sending this notice incorrectly.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Patricia Steiner]

Oh, you have a big problem alright - are you the PM or the owner of the property?  Because if you're my PM and you let a tenant go two months without paying rent plus damage my property, I would be the one you should be worried about - not the wrong form.

Fix this by getting on with it.  Send a Notice to Quit for Non-Payment of Rent.  Post it on their door in a sealed envelope plus mail it via certified mail with proof of delivery.  Send/post a separate Notice to Quit for reasons other than non-payment of rent - and be specific:  damage to the property has been noted and documented; this is in violation of the terms of the lease.

Do not accept any partial payments.  The goal is to get them out.  And, stop worrying about the wrong form...you'll make it right by "over-notifying" them that there is a problem.  When you fail to enforce a lease with the first infraction, you set yourself up for a whole host of issues going forward.  Again, let the wrong form go - and get on with it.  Act from a position of strength - not fear.  Your argument - after doing so - is that you wanted to provide every notice possible that the tenants were in violation of the lease terms and provide an opportunity for them to correct it.  Strength - not fear...