Better Living Through Litigation or Why I don't Fear the Attorney

[E. Hemingway]

I had two tenants in a State with a Covid Eviction moratorium. In hindsight, there were red flags with them but before COVID, they were current with the rent. After the moratorium, they were very entitled and believed they didn't have to pay the rent since there would be no consequences, in their mind.

I tried negotiating with them to no avail. Without the threat of eviction, they refused to pay. Meanwhile they continued working on their jobs and ordering Amazon packages. In fact, it appeared they were living pretty well since they no longer felt that they had to pay rent.

What did I do? 

I sued them in small clams for breach of contract -- breaching the lease by not paying the rent. While some Landlord/Tenant attorneys told me that they thought the judges would reject such a case saying it was an "eviction in disguise," others said no, the courts would be receptive because even in normal eviction cases, once the possession of the unit is resolved the case is transferred to the small claims court for the damages portion of the case.

I sued them for four reasons: 1) the lawsuit would get their attention and tell them that they do still owe rent and there will be consequences for non-payment; 2) if I were to get a judgment I would likely be able to garnish their wages since I knew where they worked; 3) I figured that I could potentially "trade" the judgment for possession of the unit; and 4) I was at the end of my rope with nothing else to try and figured it could not hurt.

It worked. One set of tenants left in less than 45 days and the other in less than 60 days. In both cases the units were left in decent condition.

Many landlords are afraid to hire an attorney. The attorney will cost too much. It will take too long.

I disagree. Hiring an attorney should be considered just another expense like hiring a plumber. And, if you can read and write you can easily sue them yourself in small claims court. It's not hard and there are a lot of Internet guides explaining the process. Many court clerks offices have "pro se help desks" to help guide you.

I do think that hiring an attorney is going to be more effective in the long run even if it does cost more. And you may find lawyers are not as expensive as you thought. In many cases an entire case won't cost you as much as one or two months of lost rent. Some attorneys may even take these cases on a contingency fee where they take a percentage of what they collect.

This is not legal advice. 

I am not your lawyer. 

Your results may vary.