Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I have a tenant who has been late many times on her rent, more then 6 months at least. I have been nice to no charge her late fee, but enough is enough. I met with her on sept 23rd to give her a 30 day notice and she refuse to sign, and apparently as of today, i learned she was recording me via her phone. Is that legal? The reason i gave her via an email was that she has not been able to pay rent on time, even after i allowed her to pay the rent 15 days late. I can not longer allow this as i have to make my mortgage payment and this past time she paid 16 days late, and i can not afford to put myself in this predicament. She thinks that i want to evict her to move my mom and dad in to the house which this is not the case. She said that because i want to move my mom and dad i have to pay her a relocation fee for first and last month rent? But this is not the case, i actually have a couple that are interested and will be moving in on December 1st. Can i legally show this proof in court, that i have a tenant already lined up for December 1st and she is been evicted due to late payment and also disturbing the peace, because she had an encounter with my sister and threaten to beat her up and the police had to be dispatched. What are my options, she basically wants a free ride for the next 2 months, but this is what she does with everything. She is a free loader. HELP!

Evict her, make sure you have proof of constant late payments and evict her on that alone. Any other proof of the tenant not holding up their end of the lease can be used for grounds of eviction too. Make sure to submit the proper paper work to your local court house so that you make the eviction official.

Posted by Derrick D, PA on Sunday, September 28, 2014

File the eviction now. We have two tenant who abused the system for staying in the apartment and not paying their rent. You can't evict them without the proper legal document. Future reference stop being a nice tenant ones in a while yes you can but not when they keep doing what they are not suppose to do. Charge her with all the late fees of course the one you agree to waived will not be valid in court. The sooner you get the eviction paper file the sooner you can evict her. It takes at least 1 month to get the eviction in place. Marita G. NJ

Posted by Marita G, NJ on Monday, September 29, 2014

Thank you for the replies!

Posted by Ana V, CA on Monday, September 29, 2014

You are not required to show any proof of what you want to do with your property. It is the residents responsibility to pay rent. Send the late notice first and file for eviction for non payment of rent. The courts will discuss rent and evict her for that anything else is just chit chat, which they are not interested in from her. Good Luck!

Posted by Geneva R, IN on Monday, September 29, 2014

Evict her immediately! Cut your losses... what you choose to do with your property is your business and none of hers. Don't even entertain listening to emotional embroiled baloney. She's not paying the rent and you've got a history of being tolerant. Make certain you have documentation as to when rent is due and when it has been paid in the past. I'm currently being taken to Small Claims court so I know how crucial documentation is. If she refuses the Eviction Notice I would mail her one certified to her home and work. If necessary post one on her door as well. Relocation fees are out of the question and not legal to my knowledge. She's got you pegged for a sucker since you've been nice to her in the past. Best of wishes but get going!!!

Posted by T. N, AK on Wednesday, October 1, 2014