What To Do When Your Tenant Stops Paying Rent
It is the worst case scenario for every property owner. You rent to someone in good faith, you check and double check their references and everything checks out. But then somewhere along the line, things go wrong and the rent checks stop coming. So, what can you do? In most cases, not a whole heck of a lot.
The procedures for evicting a tenant should be clearly spelled out in the rental agreement that the tenant signed. Once they have missed X amount of rent payments, they have X amount of time to move out before you can enter their space, throw their belongings into the garbage and change the locks. But the rules are very, very different from state to state, and in some places, you need a court order to enter a tenant’s apartment or living space and remove their belongings, even if they have gone months without paying a dime in rent. If you are buying a new rental property in a state other than the one you currently live in, you will need to completely research the laws of that state and how they govern these types of situations.
Another good tip is to make out a list of “What To Do’s” when it comes to dealing with tenants who haven’t paid rent. The worst thing you can do is to treat tenant a one way and treat tenant b another way. If you have to take a tenant to court to get them thrown out, you don’t want any discrepancies on how you’ve treated the people who live in your building. Also, make sure you document everything you can so if the situation does result in a court date, you’ll be able to show the judge exactly what happened. read more…
