Landlords, evicting a renter, how to?

[scottmandue]

In California,
We rent a house to augment our income, I have been doing this for over ten years with some minor headaches but overall has been good.
Until now, current renter is single mom with two kids, she has several undesirable traits but I can over look those.
However for the third time this year her rent check bounced (Merry Christmas, your checking account is frozen!).
I'm thinking next year maybe I need to have a talk with her that maybe the rent on our house is above her budget and she should think of downsizing.
Not evicting right now (it is Christmas after all) but maybe next year we need to think about making some changes.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

In Kali? You might not be allowed to evict her!

[KFC911]

I've never had to evict anyone, so I'll defer to others. In my case, I only do month-to-month leases from the git-go, and you're probably month-to-month now after the original term expired. Give her a 30 day written notice, if she doesn't comply be at the courthouse on day 31...

ps: What you want is to terminate the lease agreement (30 days notice)....not an eviction (unless she does NOT comply).

[Rikao4]

a good friend of mine who has many homes does this..
he picks up the ALL checks on the first...
you bounce one...
you can only pay with a money order or cert. check henceforth..
he does allow them to deduct the cost from the rent..
also does a video with copy to tenant when they take the house..
if it doesn't look like the first video when they leave..
he has an itemized list of cost to fix/clean or replace...
which the tenant has copy and has signed before moving in...

Rika

[Z-man]

Just went through this process with my parents: they had a derelict renter who the sheriff just evicted yesterday, after six months of not paying the rent!

If you have a signed lease agreement, you can evict her based on her inability to pay rent -- the laws differ from state to state - you have to wait X days after the rent has been past due to take action.

If you only have a verbal agreement, you can still evict someone, but it becomes a bit more problematic proving what the terms of the lease are.

You will have to file in your city or county, serve her papers, wait until the deadline, and then if she refuses to vacate, you need to get the sheriff involved.

Best bet is to get a lawyer who understands the process - this will expedite the eviction process (we finally hired a lawyer after getting sick of his 'promises' to move out.)

Your approach is probably the best way to handle it -- if she can move out on her own terms that you agree with, you avoid the headaches, and in the future, she won't have an eviction on her record.

Good luck,
-Z-man.

[KFC911]

I honestly don't think you need an attorney for this. If either occurs (non-payment) or 30 day notice to terminate, just go to the courthouse and get the ball rolling immediately. One thing is for sure....know the laws in your state and follow them to the letter, or it WILL potentially drag on-and-on. The professional rent "squatters" can stretch it out longer, by playing the system...doubtful this is the case for the OP.

[Z-man]

Originally Posted by KC911

I honestly don't think you need an attorney for this. If either occurs (non-payment) or 30 day notice to terminate, just go to the courthouse and get the ball rolling immediately. One thing is for sure....know the laws in your state and follow them to the letter, or it WILL potentially drag on-and-on. The professional rent "squatters" can stretch it out longer, by playing the system...doubtful this is the case for the OP.

Reason we went with a lawyer: rental property is in Florida, I'm in NJ, my folks were at the time in PA. The eviction process can be difficult to manage from a distance...

-Z

[craigster59]

Three Day Notice to Pay Rent or Surrender Possession of Premises
To:

Notice is hereby given to you
that within three days after service on you of this
notice, you must pay the undersigned in full the rent now due and unpaid for the premises
located at:
in the total amount of:
that being the amount of rent due as of: ,for the period from:
to:
or alternatively, you must surrender possession of the premises to the
undersigned. If you fail to pay the indicated rent or surrender possession within the three-
day period, legal proceedings will be commenced against you to recover possession and
to recover a judgment against you for the unpaid rent and damages caused by your
unlawful detention of the premises, including reasonable attorney fees and costs.
Payment of the past due rent must be made to the undersigned at:

Should you fail to pay the past due rent within the three-day
period, the undersigned elects to declare the lease under which you occupy the premises
forfeited.
Witness my signature this day of , 2014.


____________________________________
Signature of Landlord

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I had to do this once...ONCE.. and never again!
I went through a lawyer. I had to give a formal notification of $ due (like a 30 day letter) which had to be certified/ etc. and then had to get an unlawful detainer that is done through the courts. I was real glad I had a lawyer do it for me. My father laughed at me and said "you could have gotten an unlawful detainer yourself", but if I were to do it again, especially in california ( I was not in california), I would want a lawyer or to sure as heck know what you are doing before proceeding. These things can get ugly, and you really might want someone with experience on your side, especially if they decide to lay waste to the property or are difficult, which can easily happen.

Also, I would speak to a lawyer before having a "talk" with her as the tenants might use that "talk" as leverage against you... "Well he SAID we could pay 1/2 the rent this month, etc..." The last thing you want is your own goodwill effort being used against you or delaying/confounding the process.
Good luck.

[fintstone]

It varies state to state. Some states are very much pro-tenant. Mess it up and you are screwed. Don't accept a partial payment if you intend to evict. Do your research.

If you anticipate that they will resist eviction... You best bet may be to bribe them to leave.

[KFC911]

Here's a link after a quick search:

Landlord's Guide to Eviction Process in California Summary

Looks like you might need to give her a 60 day notice to terminate. Hope this helps...

[Tobra]

Single mother with two kids?


If she is on any sort of public assistance you may not be able to get her out unless she wants to leave.

[scottmandue]

Single mom with two kids, a job, and alimony (I presume because I see the Ex picking up the kids on the weekend) and drives a huge Suburban.
We don't take half payments.
We are not using any type of government assistance.
Got a text back from her "someone got into my account, I will drop off a new check and pay any fees."
As I said, part of her lifestyle is bringing home strange men... perhaps one of them got into her bank account.
And yes evict is probably not what we would want to do (why I asked) 30 day notice is probably less litigious... but we will worry about that next year.
Thanks for the help.

[biosurfer1]

My co-worker just went through this. If you start now, you MIGHT have them out by Easter. No kidding.

Co-worker started the process September 1 after non-payment. The tenants actually sort of cooperated at the end so it only took until November 20th to get them out. If they knew the laws a bit more, they could still be in the house, not paying a dime. Good luck.

[Rusty Heap]

A buddy used to have several rental houses.......if they didn't make rent on time, he'd just take the front door off removing the hinge pins and took it away for "Re-painting".


No rent, no door. Typically the people would leave with their stuff soon after no door policy was enacted, worrying about theft about their crappy stuff.

[scottmandue]

Just to reiterate... she pays the rent... just that in three years she has now bounced four checks.
She is a nice lady in her late 30's or maybe early 40's with a job who drinks A LOT of cheap wine (not that I can judge) and swears like a drunken sailor at her two teenage kids (much to the annoyance of my wife) and brings home the occasional guy that we see leaving early in the morning (again, none of our business).

Just sayin...never had these problem when I had MALE renters... just sayin

[Dantilla]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

A buddy used to have several rental houses.......if they didn't make rent on time, he'd just take the front door off removing the hinge pins and took it away for "Re-painting".


No rent, no door. Typically the people would leave with their stuff soon after no door policy was enacted, worrying about theft about their crappy stuff.

This is highly illegal, the quickest way to get sued and have your tenant end up owning the house.

Very bad advice.

As one who has had many rental units, my only advice is do everything according to local Landlord/Tenant law. It may take a while if the tenant knows how to work the system, but in the end, you will win. If they do not pay, you will get a judgment against them.

Play by the rules, you win. Playing outside the rules is Russian Roulette.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Got a text back from her "someone got into my account, I will drop off a new check and pay any fees."
As I said, part of her lifestyle is bringing home strange men... perhaps one of them got into her bank account.

Tenants will come up with multiple and creative BS lies. Just realize that these are lies, and how long it goes on depends entirely on how long you let it go on for. The dog literally will eat her rent check. Someone will break into her accounts. Someone will steal the check out of the mailbox. There will be deposit errors from her direct deposit account at work. There will be bank errors. There will be computer errors. You won't believe what crap people will construe. You can be the nice guy, but don't let her take advantage of it.
Her text sounds strangely familiar to me. It's a load of s#$% when you consider that this is not the first time the checks have bounced. There will always be an extraordinary claim, a smile on the face and a willingness to "make it right"... It's all up to you how long you put up with it.
Do not live under the illusion that everything will "be alright" even if she pays up. It will happen again, and again, and again. Have a plan that you can live with, but don't let her play on your goodwill.

[rayng]

do everything by the book.
so serve your 3 day notice to perform.
serve your 30 day notice to vacate.
get a good eviction attorney in your area. join the apartment owner's association at aoausa.com

[porwolf]

Interesting reading on eviction reality in Los Angeles:

How Danny Bramzon and Basta Revolutionized L.A.'s Eviction-Defense Industry