Landlord Question and Answer Forum

Our tenants have been late on rent 3 times within the past 6 months and always seem to have some sort of phoney excuse. Do we have to continue to give them a 7 day notice every month they are late until the end of the lease or is there some other sort of process we can take? It gets old having to drive out there every month to serve a 7 day notice to pay or vacate premises. In the end they always pay, but this is becoming an annoying habit. and the know how to play the game. Are we able to proceed with eviction for failure to pay rent when due multiple times?

I would start the eviction process. In Indiana, the landlord must first inform the tenant of his intent to evict him. This should be done by a written notice delivered to the tenant, containing the following information: -The name of the tenant -The address of the property -The date rent was due, or the violation occurred -The date the landlord intends to begin eviction proceedings This gives the tenant an opportunity to pay the back rent or fix the violation. If the tenant does not do so, the landlord may then proceed to the next step, filing a complaint with the small claims court. A copy of the complaint will be served to the tenant, and will state the date of the court hearing which will decide the case. It is essential to the tenant that he appear at this hearing, because if he does not, the court will automatically evict him. In Indiana, there are two hearings; the first determines whether the tenant should be evicted, and the second will determine what the tenant owes the landlord. After the first hearing, if the tenant was ordered to leave, the sheriff will have authority to forcibly remove the tenant within 42 hours. The landlord will have to arrange this with the Sheriff. After a tenant has been removed, he must appear at a second hearing to determine how much he owes the landlord

Posted by Clark F, OK on Monday, October 8, 2012

I am now having the same issue with my tenant, the initial due date was the 1st of each month then I gave them an extention since they said they get paid on the 8th of each month I was like okay you due date can be the 10th. They paid on time the first 3mths of their lease and now they have been late every other month. The tenant calls me and wants to know if she can change her due date to 23rd of the month. They have two months left on the lease should I just let them pay the next two months with late fees or just file the eviction documents? GA

Posted by Latonia H, GA on Monday, October 8, 2012

If it's only 2 months I would just go with the late fees. You can always deduct late fees from the security deposit but it's best to get them up front.

Posted by Dawn A, WI on Monday, October 8, 2012