Every landlord finds himself or herself in the challenging situation of dealing with a problem tenant. They may not be paying rent, damaging the rental unit, being a nuisance to other tenants, or otherwise making it impossible to have an effective landlord/tenant relationship. State and local laws governing eviction vary widely, there are still a few tips landlords can follow when faced with the messy situations leading up to evictions. As the owner of multiple housing units, it will be to your benefit to consult a lawyer to advise you on these issues, as well as to execute legal actions. Having an ongoing relationship with a lawyer is helpful, as they’ll be more likely to charge flat fees for their services.

First, you can evict a tenant for non-payment of rent. To do this, you have to go through a process. Start with serving the tenant with a formal notice that the rent is overdue, and that he faces the possibility of eviction if payment is not forthcoming. If you don?t know how to create such a formal notice, there are preprinted forms that comply with all the legal niceties. IF you don?t receive payment within the legally prescribed period, such as within a week, you can begin eviction proceedings based on non-payment of rent. Be forewarned, however, that if you accept even a partial payment of the overdue rent during the eviction process, most jurisdictions will dismiss the action if payment of any amount, even a very small one, is accepted.

If the tenant does not comply with the terms of a signed lease agreement, the landlord must supply a warning to the tenant stating the basis for such a claim ? i.e., the lease provision that has been violated ? and allow him to remedy the violation. That way, the tenant cannot later claim ignorance of the violation, or that he received no notice of the violation. Usually the courts will be favorably disposed toward a landlord who can show that the tenant ignored a prior notice and deadline.

Health and Safety Issues In many jurisdictions, it is permissible for a landlord to evict tenants whose conduct is deemed hazardous to the health of other tenants, or if they pose a safety problem. To begin with, a landlord should serve the tenant with a fixed notice period (typically a week) to remedy the problem or move out. If the tenant takes no corrective action, eviction proceedings can ensue. Even if the tenant resolves the health or safety issue, a landlord can still serve a notice of eviction on health or safety grounds if the landlord deems it necessary.

Bankruptcy If a tenant were to file for bankruptcy, the eviction proceedings will be put on hold. There will be a hold untl the bankruptcy case is resolved, or if the courts allow you to continue with the eviction. This will require the filing of a motion asking the courts to lift the temporary stay.

Sometimes when a landlord commences an eviction action, the tenant may have counterclaims. For instance, the tenant may claim inadequate maintenance of the leasehold or some other violation of the lease agreement. IN said case, the tenant might ask the court to halt the eviction proceedings, or for a substantial decrease in the monthly rent. That?s why it?s always a good idea to keep any records of tenants? complaints, and of steps taken by the landlord to remedy them. Take note that if the landlord has in fact kept such records including those of actions taken to remedy the tenant?s complaints, he can thus negate a tenant?s claim that despite repeated attempts to complain about the problem, the landlord took no action.

Trials Prior to going to court, a landlord must collect all the documentation relating to the case and ensure nothing is missing. Unless the landlord is very familiar with their local rental laws and has experience in eviction cases, it’s a good idea to hire a lawyer knowledgeable about the state’s eviction laws.

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