Domestic Violence and Eviction Advice

[Jessica Jay-Maleski]

Hello! I own a multifamily rental. One of my tenants has a history of being very aggressive toward women, including one of my tenants (who did call the police and file a report, which I have), and his girlfriends. His current girlfriend has sent me text messages about how scared she is to leave him because he will "go crazy" and she doesn't want him to "put a knife to her neck again" and that he has wrapped a phone cord around her neck as well. In addition, my other tenants have reported hearing him "beat the crap out of her" and that the other day she was yelling "help!". I of course have advised that they call the police, however they are afraid of him, too, and don't want to stir the pot. In addition, he has caused a significant amount of damage within the unit (holes in walls, etc).

While I am a Realtor and I do have significant property management experience, I have never ever had to deal with this. His lease does have a crime-free clause and states violations are cause for immediate termination of his lease.

This property is located in Phoenix, AZ. I want to move toward immediate eviction, but I want to a) avoid more property damage (unlikely), b) ensure I am prepared with any/everything I could need to file for eviction. 

Any personal experiences/advice would be appreciated!

[Mike Smith]

If no one is calling the police it would probably be hard to enforce a crime-free clause when he's not being charged with any crimes, let alone convicted. First off I would ask your other tenants to be proactive in calling the police anytime they hear a fight happening in that unit (or anywhere in the building). They can be anonymous if they want. You could also ask them to call you so you can stay more in tune with what exactly is happening. 

My other suggestion is try to convince her to apply for a restraining order. I don't know the process in Arizona, but in my state the petitioner fills out the form, it's reviewed by a judge, and if granted, it goes to the Sheriff's Office for service. Initially the respondent has no say in the process and doesn't know it's coming until it's served. He'll get his chance to fight it in court later. In cases where the petitioner and the respondent live together, the order can include a requirement for the respondent to immediately move out and not return. When I show up to serve this kind of order, I give the respondent about 20 minutes to gather a few personal essentials and then they're out. They cannot return for any reason without a court order. Violating the restraining order is a mandatory arrest. 

If he does get removed by way of a restraining order I suggest you still start the eviction process for him. If the order gets dropped, he would be able to return and his lease would likely still be valid. 

Good luck. A lot of victims will completely refuse to help themselves and there's not much other people can do for them.