Experiences from an Entrepreneur

Being a landlord can be a rewarding and frustrating endeavor.  Working with tenants comes easy for some people and very difficult for others.  Even if it is easy for you, it may be stressful when it comes time to make the decision to evict.  Here are some quick reasons (and maybe encouragements) to make the decision to evict a tenant.

Nonpayment of Rent

This is probably the most common and frankly most straightforward reason to evict your tenant, but often the one that most landlords tend to procrastinate.  When a tenant is past due in his or her rent, you should immediately file the eviction paperwork.  Unfortunately, most landlords fall into the trap of listening to the tenant’s excuses and sob stories and believing them.

The tenant will often have reasons (that they believe are valid) for not paying the rent.  You as a landlord need to understand that this is a business.  You are not a charity.  If the tenant does not pay the rent, you will need to reach into your pocket to pay the mortgage and other expenses.  This is not what you and the tenant agreed to.

Additionally, once a tenant gets behind in their rent, it is often very difficult if not impossible for them to ever get caught up.  If they are allowed to go more than 30 days past due, most tenants will not be able to come up with two months worth of rent to be current agent.  Eviction of the tenant is the only way to bring this problem to resolution and either get paid or get the property vacated so you can rent it to someone else.

Violations of Lease Agreement

Evicting a tenant for lease violations can be much more difficult.  Often the tenant will deny the violations and then it is up to the landlord to prove violations occurred and the tenants were given appropriate opportunity to correct the problems.  Using a neutral third party like the police is a valuable method for validating violations.

The entire eviction process can be intimidating, but it is a necessary part of being a landlord. It is always better to cut your losses, go through the process, and find a better tenant.