Info on Evicting a Tenant
 

I have a tenant that I need to evict but I want to make sure I do everything legally. This tenant has always paid rent on time but the house is a trash heap and I want to start getting the place cleaned up so that when I go to sell the property it is presentable. Does anyone know a good place for me to get information on being a landlord in California? Unfortunately this tenant has no intentions of changing how they are living and I want to remedy the situation before there is a cockroach and mouse problem. I want to give the tenant reasonable notice so they can find another place to live and hopefully avoid any major disruption to their life but I don't want to screw myself being too nice either.
Thanks,
Shawn

Perhaps you could just A) tell them you're selling the place and ask them to leave, or B) rent it to them to own?

Eviction is pretty harsh...

Check out Mr Landlord.com

The senario is still too vaugue to accurately respond.

1) If the tenant is on a lease, you have a legal obligation to continue renting to themfor the duration .........provided all terms and conditions are fufilled: i.e. not damaging the property, and/or maintaining fire/heath code standards.

Pay attention to this last sentance.
That could lead to advesarial situation where you end up spending months digging through lease laws, property code, and extensive court senarios.....if you go that route.

2) If the tenant is on a month-to-month, then inform them in well in advance in certified writing(30 days in Cali?) that the lease will not be continued.

That's why I'm trying to find out what is legal because I don't want to find out after telling her that I'm selling and she has to move that I did something that is violating her tenant rights.

The tenant could not afford to purchase the home.

Eviction stinks.....so does cat crap on my hardwood floors.

I was pretty vague. The tenant is on a month to month. I am not opposed to giving the tenant 60 or even 90 days to find a new place so complying with Cali law should be relatively painless. Thanks for the info.

I will definitely be checking out the website. Thanks!

Good luck...

A buddy I used to know had to evict someone from his rental, the tenants were total butt heads and refused to leave even after many notices and it was all legal and up and up. Sorta a seedy part of town at night with lots of crime.

The buddy just went over at 8 p.m. on a friday night and took the front door off the hinges and took it with him saying "I need to paint this, and will be back in a week or two with it". Guess you'll have to guard all your junk and crap.

They were moved out and took all their stuff the next day. :D

Rusty Heap- This approach may be effective with the lowest of the knuckle-draggers, but it is extremely ill-advised.

A good LL should be able to approach a problem on all levels.
Good screening, morality, and good communication will=$ in the long term.

I've never had to evict a tenant but I have friends who have. What they recommend is that you give them notice that you are not renewing their lease (month to month) as stated by the terms of the lease and hope all goes well, BUT, he also starts eviction proceedings at the same time, that way if they decide they aren't moving without a fight you haven't wasted 2 months to find out.
Good luck, it seems in CA that the renters have all the rights. I just took a bath on a renter that disappeared one weekend but at least he left.
Steve

I'd ask my fiance now (an attorney) but she's in court today... however, it's been my experience that you should give the tenants at least 30-days notice even if they're on a month-to-month arrangement. I'm sure Cali law is similar to what we have here on this.
Did you have anything stipulated in a lease agreement? If not you would want to do that should you rent it again. That paper between you and the tenant is very important. That's what I do.

FIRST - state law & city law varies -- find out what both are for you!

Second, try to get the trash heap declared a public nuisance - call the City inspectors.

by no intentions, I assume you asked/told them to clean the place up and it is still a trash heap...

If you've documented your notifying them of the need to clean the premises that will serve you well, also.

My dad has a "clean clause" in his leases. I do to. But that doesn't mean the tenants will keep the places clean, or rather leave them clean. Deposits have helped some with that problem.
And one thing I have found, local ordinances can be loosely interpreted. Our definition of clean and livable is obviously not the same as some of the local inspectors here! Some are very biased against the property owners.

Shawn, I'm think you want to keep the existing (paying) tenants in place until it sells? Good move.

You may have to "pester' them to live a bit more cleanly, but it might be for their long-term benefit as well as yours.
An annual fire-alarm battery inspection is not unheard of .
Take pics to document everything while you visit. Make sure they are there during this time, and (of course) let them know well in advance when the Realtor will have a showing scheduled. Treat people with firm respect, and usually it's reciprocated.

Now is a bad time to sell (sellers can loose tens of thousands of dollars), but however it works out I wish you the best.

I know this sounds funny but I am not that concerned about maintaining a paying tenant in this home. Unfortunately my pestering does not seem to have an impact on the cleanliness of the tenant.....although for her credit she has stopped keeping a bunch of shopping carts from the local stores in her yard:eek:
I treat my tenants with the same respect that I would want if I were renting the place but honestly I think that this person may just not know any better or care to change. I have quite a bit of time to worry about getting the place ready to sell and I am just doing my homework ahead of time.

The trash is mainly in the home/garage so it isn't visible to the inspectors. I've asked for the place to be kept cleaner but it has fallen on deaf ears. I don't expect the place to be sparkling clean but I had a plumber charge me extra yesterday because of how disgusting the sink was that needed to be snaked.....I called him because it was worth the money for me not to have to go into the place.

I had a problem tenant. Sold the place with him there. Told the new owner about him and all. Was just in court yesterday trying to get me last bit of money from the tenant. Has been 7 months from the sale.

The new owner called last night asking for advice. Man am i glad I am out of that business.

if month to month - just toss them out; give notice - or raise the rent for the next term

main issue is will they get mad & tear the place up - you have a good deposit I hope?

I would make it worth their while to leave and clean up. Like refund a months rent if they move out in 30 days, and clean up on the way out.

If you be a hard-ass and start eviction, it is going to take months and cost more. And they will most likely stop paying rent once you start eviction process.

i can have them out by tomorrow ill just need $30,000 wired to a swiss bank account then when there gone tomorrow another $30,000 ....... and ill need access to a house across the street.

Some good points to consider.
Thanks

I got out of the rental business in S.D. about 5 years ago. If you have a month to month rental agreement, you can just give them 30 days notice to move out. You don't need to give them a reason. I always used a legal firm (Smith & Associates) when I wanted to get a tenant out if they didn't comply with 30 or 3-day notices. It cost around $300 at the time if you didn't have to go to court (they provided an attorney at extra cost charged to the tenant if they lost), and the Sheriff served notice on them to leave and secured the premises at the end of the process. It was well worth the money for the few times I had to use it.

The internet is your friend, unless you're a landlord. :)

http://www.hud.gov/local/ca/renting/tenantrights.cfm

Specifics depend on the city in question. I'm not familiar with San Diego's, but if it's a rent-controlled area, it'll be more difficult to evict a tenant w/o legal cause.

Sherwood

First of all, you do not want to be a landlord in Cali.

What my Dad used to do was call a Sheriff's Deputy friend to go speak to them. It was actually two guys, one 6'7" white guy who went about 250#, one a black guy who was about 6'3", well north of 350# and would make Warren Sapp look like little wuss, dude has a neck bigger than my waist.

They go out to the house together, white guy does all the talking. Asks them nicely to vacate in 72 hours, or his brother will be back again, and he won't be asking so nice.

Shawn357,
I would suggest a legal course of action instead of the above.

If you have a budget, you could attempt to motivate the tenant by offering him cash to voluntarily move.

Sherwood

An eviction is only necessary if the tenant does not move out after you gave them notice and a move out date. I do not think you need to pay extra to get them to clean up. Likely they won't anyway. Just use their deposit for any cleaning that's beyond normal wear and tear. I would not make their cleanliness issue a subject at all. Just send them the notice and if they ask, tell them you are planning to sell.

George

Thanks for all of the info everybody. The more I look into it the more it looks like I won't have any real issues asking this tenant to leave. To clear things up this tenant is not a huge problem tenant she is just a slob that is starting to have a real negative impact on my home and it's value. Thanks again for all of the information!
-Shawn

Never underestimate the power of slobs.
They won't tell you about a leaking sink/toilet/tub until the sub-floor is completely rotten away and ready to cave in.
Never mind the mold. You won't have much luck getting a renter during the extensive renovation process.........

I had to paint after a hippy-chick moved out. She burned a lot of candles.
After several washings with TSP, several coats of different primers, and multiple coats of of paint, the off-white walls were again off-white.
It was like painting black wax-paper.

When I had a tenant that did not want to vacate, I had the eviction notice served by the sheriff's office. Worked great

This is what I am afraid of. I had a water bill a while back that was about $300 higher than normal so I asked her if her faucet was running and that's when she says "Oh yeah I keep meaning to tell you about this toilet that is running like I am holding the handle down but it doesn't really bother me." Fortunately I was able to repair it so the next bill was only about $150 over what it should have been:rolleyes:

I am already planning and budgeting cleaning the place up. I figure that I will be getting her out of there the beginning of the year (when I have time to deal with it). I am actually getting excited about fixing the place up because it has been bothering me for a while but i never bothered with it. This should also save me some money from it taking a couple track weekends away:)

For future landlords, it might be good idea to insert a clause into the rental agreement that periodic inspections by the owner will be scheduled and that any major damage repair will be deducted from their security deposit, and that the security deposit must be brought up to date within 30 days or risk breaking the terms of the agreement. Have them initial that section so they understand the requirements and the consequences.

Being messy is an arbitrary judgement call, IMHO not an eviction code unless it's a fire and safety issue. Clothes on the floor, dirt, grease, trash can be remedied. Did I mention there's a difference between issuing an eviction notice and actually seeing them drive off into the sunset w/their frige? Sounds like you have the situation in hand.

Next time, screen prospective tenants more thoroughly. Some landlords go so far as make an unannounced visit at the applicant's current residence to see how they live. Sometimes it's a crapshoot. Be very picky who you rent to.

Discriminate against smokers unless you don't mind the potential fire hazard and yellow-tinged interior.

Sherwood

Great info. When I bought the place the tenant was there but she has gradually become more and more messy over the last couple years. I should have dealt with this a long time ago but I was admittedly lazy and didn't want to deal with fixing up the place, finding a new tenant, etc. at the time. Did I mention I had to tell her that she couldn't have a possum as a pet?:eek:

Shawn357,

A quick, easy an legal way to remove the tenant in a maximum of 60 days is to send a letter Certified return receipt and regular mail stating you intend to occupy the premises yourself. You need not in the end occupy the home after renovations as your circumstances have changed but that will remove the tenant quickly. Evey state follows more or less the following law. If the property is a single family home the owner may evict upon the grounds they intend to occupy the premises. I am assuming based on your description this is a single family. It also doesn't mean the tenant will not make a stand and force you to take them to court (especially if they have children and an alternate residence has a higher rent). It would also be wise to research comparable homes and rents in the area and include them in the letter. 3 comps should be enough but the more the better. Stay within the same school district if children are involved. Should it go to court the tenant would be hard pressed to make a case why they would not vacate especially since you found them an alternate residence and their are several available in the vicinity. I do not know Cali time frames but in my part of NJ you can get a tenant out in less then 60 days this way even in winter. 30 day notice in writing, Court date assigned in two weeks. Upon a favorable ruling delivery by the Sheriff to vacate is three business days, move out is three business days following that.

Oh and don't make any mention of the condition of the property it will give your position away and alter the judges thought process. You need to live there due to circumstances.

Good luck.

Thank you for the info.

Good job on wanting to follow the law. That alone will reduce your stress and legal fees.

I have had many rentals, and one thing I have learned: In the end, I always win. The tenant WILL leave.

It is highly illegal to remove a door, or cut off any utilities. You, as landlord, are to provide the tenant with certain things- Basic security (Front door, non-leaking roof, yada yada) and access to adequate water, heat, electricity.

The tenant, also has requirements- To pay rent, and not destroy/devalue the property. One of the stupidest things a tenant can do is quit paying rent. That makes it very easy to have a successful eviction, as then it's a no-brainer. No money, no rental agreement, you're out.

If, on the other hand, the landlord removes the door for painting, the judge (if it gets that far, and probably will if stealing doors) will instantly determine (correctly) that the landlord is not working in good faith, and the landlord's life just got really ugly. An eviction will be very difficult if the tenant has a legitimate claim against the landlord.

Having a month-to month agreement is the better than a long-term lease, as it lets both sides out if things get uncomfortable.

You're in the driver's seat. Obey the law, and life as a landlord is easy.