How To Get Rid Of A Tenant (without Evicting)?

Question

So one of my tenants has become a problem in regards to paying rent. She is about 2.5 months past due on rent from earlier this year and hasn't paid rent for August. I've tried to text and her and she is not communicating. I was working to give her flexibility as she had let me know she was having pandemic related financial issues, but I know she is working now.

I'm in Massachusetts and from what I can gather, since we are in a county with 'substantial spread' and eviction is out of the question.

She is tenant at will and so I'm wondering if there is any method I could use to just sort of force her out without evicting?

A letter telling her that her rent is increasing by 30%?

A letter telling her that I'm moving to an annual lease with a steep monthly increase?

And in regards to the back rent - what is my course of action there? Just let it go?

Patricia Steiner · Answer

Let's start with getting you paid: file a Small Claims lawsuit online for the full amount of the unpaid rent. These lawsuits are inexpensive (about $35), can be filed online in most municipalities, and are exempt from any moratorium conditions. Get your judgement and get it filed with the credit bureau so before she gets that next apartment, new car, credit card, i-phone and the like, she will have to settle with you first. You can also assign this to an collection firm - one that does it for a flat fee or a percentage collected are best. Get paid.Get her out. If she is on a month-to-month lease, provide a termination notice. In most states, 30-days notice must be given. You are under no obligation to explain yourself, you can just terminate. Once a lease has expired, it's not covered by the moratorium so it's a cheap, quick date.Issue her a Notice To Quit for Non-Payment of Rent. This gives her (in most states) 3-days to pay or face eviction. You can get your state's Quit form online through your state's BAR association for free. Just follow the notice rules on it and you're good to go.I recommend doing it all at once as a "shock and awe" event. When the tenant sees there's no way around or through this, I'm pretty sure you'll be paid and she will find another place to live. You've got this...do it now.Best.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

@Patricia Steiner as always, your advice is excellent. Unfortunately, those "simple" eviction steps only work if the individual knows the process and sticks to it. I recommend he use an attorney to ensure it's done properly, professionally, and in a timely fashion. Once he's more comfortable with the eviction process, he can try it himself.

Scott M. · Answer

W.O. Evicting (which is next to impossible for some places as you know) you can ask or you can offer her cash for keys. Beyond those two things you have eviction.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It wouldn't do much good to increase her rent. If she's not paying the current rate and you can't kick her out, not paying a higher rate isn't going to change anything.Here's the truth: she doesn't see you as a threat and is going to kick this can down the road until you become a threat of she finds something different to do. You talk. You ask. You beg. You get angry. She ignores you, nothing happens to her, so she has no motivation to change.You need to contact an attorney that's experienced with evictions and let them fix it for you.

Douglas Snook · Answer

About the only way would be to terminate the tenancy, in other words send her a 30 day notice that you are not renewing her tenancy (IF she is MTM). The CDC ban only applies IF she files the form and claims the exemption. (I believe) Even if you try this route you will not be able to get into court until October when the ban is supposed to end. What you want to do is get her to apply to one of the third party agencies like RAFT or CTI as they have plenty of money from the Feds to give out. Give her a 14 day notice. The file the eviction with the court. Hopefully she will apply to one of the agencies. That way at least you will get paid.If you don't take some kind of action or start toward some kind of eviction, you run the chance she just will keep ignoring you and not paying you. By starting you will put some pressure on her to either seek help from a third party agency or at least respond.

Lien Vuong · Answer

If she is TAW you can deliver her a 30 day notice to quit and a Demand for Rent letter as soon as she did not pay. Did you do that?You can try to collect back rent with eviction (which we wont likely pay) but then after you can report it to the credit bureau for debt owed to you.

Jill F. · Answer

In Ohio you have to use an attorney for an eviction if your property is held in an LLC (some smaller courts around here don't enforce but Akron does and it's state law). The lawyer lobby took a dim view of non-attorneys trampling on their turf by representing an LLC's in court

Theresa Harris · Answer

Give her notice as per your lease/agreement. If she doesn't respond, send it to an eviction attorney and let her know that. Tenants like this are frustrating and Nathan is right, you will only get mad at their behaviour, let a professional deal with it if she won't move.