tenant moved out before eviction court date, now what?

[Amy Hu]

Tenant moved out before court date. There's $800 water bill unpaid.

Now what? PM said eviction case was dismissed as tenant moved out. 

So there's no 2nd cause court. I need to file a case at small claim court. 

Is that true?

[Thomas S.]

I would advise you continue to small claims court. You never know when a individual may want to get their life on track and will need to get the judgement cleared from their records. I have had them come back years later wanting to pay me so they could buy a home or get a car loan.

Small claims court is inexpensive and very simple. Every landlord should make it a policy to not only evict bad tenants but also follow through with small claims. If they owe money and do not pay they are criminals in my book and I treat them accordingly.

To simply decide it will not pay off and therefor is not worth seeking justice is a defeatist attitude. That is a major part of the problem in our society. Criminals should never be allowed off scott free.