I need to get rid of my bad tenant

[Peter Goeller]

Hello BP I Bought my first rental proprety 2 years ago here in the Worcester Massachussets area. Its a 3 family house and it came with a set of tennants... They where paying way under the market rent so I made a lease raising the rent closer to market rent. When I presented it to them they had no problem paying more but they never signed it. Its been a few months with late as usual payments but they stopped coming in. One of the tennants lost her job and is waiting for unemployment, or her stimulus check to come in. I'm all done with these tennants and I want to get them out. I really hope I can do this without a formal eviction. Any advice on what to say to them and how to go about having this conversation would be greatly appreciated.

[Joe Splitrock]

@Peter Goeller it is time to have "the talk" with them.

It is not you, it's me. I can't pay my bills if you are not paying rent. You will need to move out, so I can rent it to a new tenant who is able to pay their bills. I am really hoping you leave on your own so we can part on good terms. If you don't move out, I will need to get my attorney involved, which means an eviction on your record. It is very difficult to find landlords who will rent to people with evictions on your record. I want you to find a home for your family, you just can't stay here.

The key to this "talk" is following it up with action. Hire an attorney and use a process server to serve them notice to vacate. Most people who don't go after the talk, will go once they are served notice. If they won't leave after getting served notice, you really want to go to court, because that is the only way to legally rights to your property.