Landlord Question and Answer Forum

I sent my renter a notice on Monday that said his lease was going to expire on the first and that he needed to either resign a new lease or move on before the first. <I have not heard ANYTHING> Now I am approaching another issue where he has still not paid his rent and it is 9 days overdue from when he said he could pay and 18 days overdue from the orginal due date. My husband wants to send him another notice to just evict him and be done with it, because he does not return any of our calls or txt. Should I just hold out till the first, because the last notice says that if he fails to respond then he will be expected to be out no later than the first. OR should I go ahead and send him an eviction warning, because the first notice was to resign a lease and this is for the rent being overdue...two different issues.

You want your money , know what are the laws in your state, is he still there, You want to look like the nice guy here, You just can't evict someone and they leave that day, there is time frames that have to take place before this can happen. He could always say he did not get the notice. Go the proper route with the laws in your state and get your Money. See in Massachusetts it is 14 day, if they do not pay start eviction , but your state is different, hope he did not skip out .

Posted by Donald G, MA on Thursday, August 19, 2010

I don't think I was clear perhaps. I know the laws for eviction in my state, I guess what I'm asking is...Is it bad form to send 2 notices for 2 different issues in the same week all with the same "do this or move out" feel to them.

Posted by Christina B, IN on Thursday, August 19, 2010

why would you want to renew his lease if he is not paying? just evict the bum. make sure you send notices, otherwise the court can throw it out.

Posted by Joellyn L, IN on Friday, August 20, 2010

My suggestion is you explain that you have a "well recognized" and "industry standard" schedule to which you ALWAYS adhere. (No emotion involved) The tenants' activities act as triggers to activate certain responses/actions. Many are to their benefit (for example, the furnace fails....you immediately begin replacing it), some are for YOUR protection, all are designed to be honest and fair. In this instance the tenants failure to pay rent on time likely triggered a late fee, somewhere around the 5 day mark. Using the same concept, when the payment is 20 days late (or there about) you "automatically" file paperwork to initiate eviction proceedings. This process can be stopped up until the day of eviction. To stop the eviction process the tenant can reasonably be expected to pay: original rent payment, late fee, "filing fees" and possibly "additional penalties". You may not be obligated to accept the payments since being late on the rent is a breach of the contract.

Posted by Grant W, VA on Saturday, August 21, 2010