How (And When) to Evict a Renter

Nobody wants to have the reputation of being a mean old landlord. Nobody wants to be the bad guy. A lot of people hire property management companies to do this kind of dirty work because, let’s be honest, it can be tough to have the stomach for this part of the business. But, at the end of the day, it’s important to remember that this is an investment. It’s a business. You’ve invested in this property, you’ve put your time into it, and you deserve to get a return on that investment. 

Consider your responsibilities. You have a responsibility to yourself, to your family, and to your future. When you got into real estate investments, you were probably hoping to diversify your overall investment portfolio and build future wealth. 

Think about it this way: If you’re dragging your feet on evicting someone who isn’t paying rent, and isn’t taking care of the property, you’re jeopardizing that future wealth. You’re also jeopardizing your financial security – and your family’s financial security – for future years. Now, you may not need that money right away, but down the line, you will. 

The fact of the matter is, if someone isn’t paying the rent, give them as much grace as you can, but if they’re not holding up their end of the deal, it’s time to give them the eviction notice. 

How the Eviction Process Works

First and foremost, before you file an eviction, you – or your property management team – need to be well-versed in the laws in your state and your town. Laws do tend to differ from state to state, but there can be county or city laws to consider as well. In most cases, rent is due on the 1st of the month and it’s late on the 5th. We start posting three-day notices on the 6th. 

What is a Three-Day Notice? 

Three-day notices are something you, as a landlord, have the right to issue when someone hasn’t paid rent or hasn’t paid rent on time. This notice tells your tenant that they haven’t paid their rent, and as a result, have three days to vacate the property. 

Usually what happens after someone receives a three-day notice is they call you and want to fix the problem. If your tenant hasn’t engaged with you about rent before the notice and they’ve been late for a while – or have been having problems paying the rent – this forces their hand and forces them to engage with you about it. 

In some cases, you may decide to hear them out and make a deal, try to find some middle ground, and ultimately reach an arrangement that’s beneficial to both parties. However, if this is the second, third, or fourth time someone has been late, you may decide it’s time to follow through with filing an eviction. 

At that time, you’re going to go to the courthouse to fill out the appropriate paperwork. Don’t forget to take the three-day notice: You should take a picture of it with your phone to show you’ve taped it to the door, as this will be necessary to file the paperwork. After you do this, the court will set a date, and either you or a representative have to show up at the courthouse to speak to your side of the case. 

• The tenant also has the right to show up and plead their side of the case. In my experience, a third of the time, the tenant doesn’t show up. 

However, if they do show up, the court may give them additional time, like two weeks, to vacate the property depending on their situation. In extreme situations, if there’s an issue with paperwork, you got the calendar date wrong, or there’s a maintenance issue that the tenant brings up that muddies the water, this could end up with weeks of ongoing negotiation to resolve. 

Even though you’ve won your court case, the judge might have ordered someone to be out by the 24th – and they’re still there on the 24th when you show up to start working on the property for your next tenant. In that case, you have to go back to the court and set up a date and time for the sheriff’s office to send deputies over to get the tenant to leave so you can change the locks and have your property back. It’s a difficult situation, but it’s perfectly legal. 

Evictions are not fun. They’re not easy. But they are necessary, sometimes, to ensure your business is functioning the way you need it to – and your property will continue to be a viable source of income for the future. 

Realistically, it could take weeks to evict someone. And, in cases where the eviction process has been dragged out, you could potentially face even more problems on the other side because chances are, they weren’t taking care of your property, either. 

How Much Does It Cost to Evict a Tenant?

If this doesn’t sound like something you have the time or stomach to handle, I have some good news. Your property manager can handle all of this for you. 

Even if you choose to hand this part of the process off to your property management team, it’s important to know the costs. 

• The cost of filing evictions will vary from state to state. But, as an example, a relatively easy eviction in Columbus, Ohio costs about $400. 

The $400 you pay in Columbus covers the attorney fees – which we, as your property manager, contract for you – as well as the associated court and filing fees. It also covers our fee to go to the attorney and handle all of this on your behalf. When we take over this situation, it’s our job to make sure everything is in order: We check to make sure all the lease material is correct and available, all the right court paperwork is in play, we’ve correctly issued the three-day notice, and we have all the necessary back-up information to support our case in court. 

Unfortunately, I’d estimate that about 10% of the time, the tenant doesn’t cooperate. And, in approximately half of those situations, we have to get the sheriff involved. However, as far as the approximate cost, it’s about $400. Now, if it does turn out that there’s an extenuating circumstance or you have to go to court multiple times, costs could go up. 

Regardless of whether you pay the $400 or double that, however, the sooner you handle the problem and get that person out of your property, the better off you’re going to be. Think about the long-term, think about your future, and focus on that instead of the upfront costs of handling this part of the business. 

Evicting Renters for Non-Payment

At some point, you’re probably going to have to deal with a situation where you have to evict someone. It’s a difficult situation for everyone involved – and it’s something most people don’t want to think about doing. In situations where you have a long-term tenant, maybe even someone you’ve developed a professional friendship or rapport with, evictions can be especially difficult. But, they do happen. 

Let’s say you have a tenant who was really great in the beginning: They took care of the property, they were communicative when issues arose, and they always paid the rent in full and on time. However, two, three, or even five years down the road, something changed. Over time, their payments became more spotty. Then, all of a sudden, they’ve stopped paying. They’ve stopped answering your calls. The property is starting to decline in condition, and you suspect they aren’t doing their best to take care of it like they used to. 

Maybe you’ve even noticed some potentially costly issues in the home that are due to negligence – and you’re starting to wonder how that’s going to affect the money you’ll need to put into rehab and maintenance later on. Especially if they stay at the property. 

So, what do you do? In some situations, you’ll have to make the difficult decision to evict that person if the situation doesn’t improve. 

Other Reasons for Evicting Tenants

While non-payment is one of the top reasons to evict someone from one of your properties, it’s not the only one. You need to make sure other things in your lease protect you as a property owner. 

For instance, in our standard lease, we have a clause that says tenants won’t inhibit the quiet enjoyment of other tenants in the area. So, this could apply to multi-unit buildings – like apartment and townhouse complexes – or neighborhoods where your neighbors are close by. Unfortunately, we’ve had situations where cops have been called because of what one tenant is doing to disturb the peace of other people in the area, such as domestic disturbances. 

These kinds of issues can disturb the quiet enjoyment of other neighbors or people who, in some cases, may share a wall. If you have a clause in your lease, that gives you due cause to evict someone if they keep violating the lease agreements – but you have to have documentation. It’s well within your rights to evict someone for reasons like this if you’ve got documentation. 

However, the trick in these types of situations is you can’t just send them a three-day notice like you can with unpaid rent. You have to get your attorney involved, and usually, it’s a 30-day eviction notice instead. Make sure you clearly detail the reasons for eviction and you have all your ducks in a row. 

Another situation where you might want to evict a tenant might be where they are supposed to have utilities in their name but come winter, you get a notification from the gas company that your tenant hasn’t paid their bills. Now, you don’t want to deal with frozen pipes or any of the other costly issues that could arise if the utilities are paid and functional. Likewise, if the tenant is responsible for the water bill and they haven’t paid it, that could also be cause for eviction. 

• Don’t forget: The water bill runs with the property, so if your tenant leaves abruptly and leaves behind a $1,000 water bill, that’s now on you to pay. 

So, you have to be mindful to make sure these situations don’t get out of hand, and that your tenants are paying what they’re responsible for paying, and if they’re not, it might be time to consider more drastic measures if a resolution can’t be found via another route. 

Finally, your tenants must be taking care of your property. Normal wear and tear happen, but if a tenant is destroying or causing harm to your property, you probably want to consider eviction. In these situations, you want to make sure you have photo documentation, and ideally, you’ve done a walk-through to see any of the damage that has been done. 

Some owners want us to go above and beyond for them as property managers, which can include performing tasks like doing walk-throughs, periodic check-ins, and taking pictures of the property to determine whether it’s in good repair and being cared for by the tenant(s). 

9 times out of 10, if a tenant is paying rent in full and on time, your property is probably being cared for appropriately – and you’ve got nothing to be worried about. 

Final Thoughts

Stay on top of any issues that could arise, have a professional relationship with your tenants – or make sure your property manager does – and be prepared for any changes in someone’s situation that might indicate they are going to become a problem.