Any Landlords in Rhode Island have experience evicting tenants ?

[Raymond Lewis]

How hard is it to evict a tenant in Rhode Island ?     How long does the process actually take ? 

[Anthony Thompson]

@Raymond Lewis It's not as hard as it is in Massachusetts, by all accounts.

In my experience it usually takes a couple of months, though it really depends on how quickly you act on the unpaid rent, e.g. sending out the 5-day demand letter on the 17th of the same month the rent is unpaid.

It can be delayed if they are "professional tenants" who really know the tricks of gaming the system (which can buy them an extra month or more depending on whether you use a good attorney or do something else like DIY and make any mistakes).

And sometimes you just get a bad judge and s/he gives the tenants extra time just because.

Also I'm assuming this is for unpaid rent. In RI there are evictions for unpaid rent (faster track) and "everything else" (which are slower). If the latter, for example you want to make an apartment vacant to renovate the apartment or sell the property, it will take an extra month or two in general, and then add another month if the tenant(s) are aged 65+.

I'd recommend reading the RI Landlord-Tenant Handbook or the laws themselves (Residential Landlord and Tenant Act). And of course, I do not recommend DIY evictions since it's very easy to get tripped up on technicalities and have to restart the whole process over again (very costly mistake).

Instead, I recommend using an attorney who specializes in evictions and if you end up going that route I can recommend a couple of names (PM me if you want their names).