Using the Law to Evict Your Deadbeat Tenants

One of the biggest issues you might face when you own rental income property concerns tenants. It is simply not possible to always fill your rental properties with tenants that pay their rent on time and act in an orderly fashion. Sadly, there are times when you will need to evict a deadbeat tenant.

In this article, we'll first examine a list of unit conditions that may be considered the tenant's responsibility and then look at three causes that most states regard as legal grounds for tenant evictions.

Tenant Responsibility

1) Tenants should keep the unit clean and safe. A tenant should be expected to have some cleaning capabilities and garbage they generate taken to the appropriate receptacles or designated location for trash pickup. For the sake of cleanliness and to prevent infestations, tenants must be held responsible to maintain clean living conditions in and around his or her rental property unit.

2) Tenants must use fixtures and appliances in the unit properly. Tenants are not permitted to abuse fixtures and appliances in the rental unit, must exercise reasonable care not to overload electrical outlets, and should not flush large objects down a toilet in the unit.

3) Tenants are responsible to fix or pay for damage they cause. As the controlling factor living in the rental unit, if the tenant creates a situation that affects the habitability of the rental unit, he or she can be held responsible. If a tenant puts a hole in a wall, severely stains the carpets, or breaks fixtures and appliances, for instance, he or she must arrange to either fix or pay to repair the damages.

Naturally, you can list more detailed tenant responsibilities in your lease or rental agreement. Understand, however, that an effort to hold a tenant responsible doesn't mean that it will hold up in court. Once you purchase rental property and become a landlord it's always best to familiarize yourself with legislation in your area so you thoroughly understand what responsibilities you can and cannot shift to tenants.

Legal Causes for Eviction

1) Nonpayment of Rent - Nonpayment, one of the most common types of eviction procedure, is when a landlord attempts to evict a tenant for not paying the rent. A lease or rental agreement will state the due date for rent payment, and some state laws extend the due date for a tenant to pay the rent by a certain amount of days referred to as the prescribed grace period. If the rent is paid in full within the legal grace period of these states, an eviction for nonpayment cannot be started; a landlord must wait until the legal grace period has lapsed to start an eviction. For instance, if the due date is on the first day of the month and the legal grace period is 10 days, the rent will not be due until eleventh day of the month and you cannot start the eviction until the twelfth of that month. In a nonpayment eviction, however, the rental owner should be aware that the tenant might try to show that the rental unit was sub par as a defense for not paying rent.

2) Lapse of Time - Lapse-of-time evictions is when a landlord evicts the tenant because that tenant's lease or rental agreement has expired. A lapse-of-time eviction can be done when a lease is in its final month, and is the type of eviction procedure commonly used by landlords who give month-to-month tenancies most commonly use this type of eviction procedure. A lapse-of-time eviction can be done without giving any other reason than the owner wants his or her unit back; the contract is terminated because of its expiration only. So it doesn't matter what condition the tenant claims the unit is in because the condition has no relevance to the expiration of the agreement.

3) Nuisance - Landlords have a right to evict tenants if the tenant has become a nuisance to the property as long as the agreement includes a nuisance clause. A nuisance could be someone who throws loud parties every night or who continuously disturbs the neighbors, resulting in police visits to the property. In this case, tenants have a right to use and occupy a rental unit in any way they want as long as it does not infringe on the quiet enjoyment of other tenants in the building or violate federal, state, and local laws.

Caveat

Bear in mind that when it comes to rental property ownership most legislation holds the property owner responsible not the tenant; the property owner is always the bottom line regarding problems that arise at the property.

It is highly recommended, therefore, that as a rental property owner you become familiar with legislation in your area and understand what responsibilities you can and cannot shift to tenants because you can't afford to fill your rental income property with bad tenants. Still, you don't want to get into trouble with the legal authorities either.