How to Properly Evict a Tenant

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There is nothing more frustrating as a landlord, at least to me anyway, when the first of the month rolls around and the rent doesn't show up. You wait a few days and it still doesn't arrive. You put a phone call into your tenant, and you get excuses ranging from, "I am a little behind this month, I will have it out as soon as possible" to "I sent, didn't you get it?". As if had you did receive it, you have nothing else better to do then call your tenant for money they don't owe you.

It is very frustrating, but the sad reality is, no matter how great the homework you do and initial screening of your tenant, you just can't predict what they will do with the money they make. Nor will anyone ever understand why they case of beer of carton of cigarettes they go through everyweek is more important than keeping a roof over their head.

So the time has come for you to begin the eviction proceedings. It is not that difficult of a process when done correctly. The key words there are "done correctly". When done by the way by which your state has defined the laws for the process, it will be smooth. You do it incorrectly and you may have a tenant living there for a long time with no obligation to pay their rent.

Below I am going to give my steps I take to evict a tenant. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, I recommend hiring an attorney in your area that specializes in this. The cost will be higher than if you did it yourself, but if piece of mind is more important than standing in front of a judge, then hire an attorney.

The first thing you want to do is make sure your lease clearly outlines the date by which you must receive the rent, and you must stick to that date. There is no give here. If the lease says it must be in your hand by the first of the month, then it needs to be in your hand by the first of the month. The second day is considered late and late fees will apply.

I normally wait 3 days from the due date to send out my eviction notice letter. This is a letter that states in the utmost professional language, that I have not received their rent payment, and that if I do not receive it by the 15th of the month, the eviction process will begin. All of this is also outlined in the lease, but I put it in writing again as it will carry more weight in court when you show the judge you gave them a chance to make due what they owe.

You will need to check the laws in your area to see what the proper statutes are for the eviction process. In my location you can file immediately, however I know in other areas you have to wait 45 days. Check with your local county courthouse or housing department.

If the tenant does not respond by the 15th with what they owe, and anything less than what is due in full is not acceptable, go down to the courthouse in the town where your property is located and fill out the paperwork to begin the legal process. They will help you through it in making sure it is filled out properly, or at least they should. The cost to file is usually around $25, but it may be more or less depending upon where you live.

Once that is filed, you should receive in the mail a notice as to when your court date is so the judge will hear both sides. Your tenant will receive this same notification, and going by what I have seen in my area, the court doesn't care if the tenant or the landlord receives the letter. Your date is set and both parties are to be there. Should you not show (in my area anyway), the judge dismisses the case. If the tenant does not show, an judgment for the landlord is given and you can begin the next step in removing the tenant.

Once the court appearance has finished and you receive a judgment in your favor to legally remove the tenant, you will be instructed as to what the next step will be. Usually it is filing the paperwork with at the county courthouse to have your local sheriff's department remove the tenant. When the paperwork is filed, the sheriff will post an orange or some bright sign on the door letting the tenant know of the exact date they must move out.

If the tenant still resides in the property after that date, you will then go to the property with the Sheriff's department and they will be removed by them. Do not touch, harm or threaten the tenant. Doing this may cause you to start this process all over again. The sheriff is there for a reason. Let them do their jobs. They are really good at it.

Now that the tenant has been legally removed, the property is yours once again. Read my other article if they leave items in the house. You can not just simply throw them away. There is a legal process for that as well.

An eviction can and will go smoothly if you follow all of necessary steps and do it properly. Once you go through the process once, it becomes much easier. Hopefully you won't have to do it too often, or if luck is on your side, at all.

By: Michael C. Podlesny

About the Author
Michael C. Podlesny is the owner of Rental Property Repair, LLC. A rental and investment property repair and renovation company that services Mercer & Burlington Counties in New Jersey and Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

To inquire about their services you can visit them online at http://www.RentalPropertyRepairLLC.com.