How To Evict A Tenant Without Going To Court
The process of evicting a tenant from your property in order to sell it can be a lengthy and expensive one. It may not be worth the effort for you if you're looking for quick cash, or if the landlord is no longer interested. So, instead of going through all the trouble of court proceedings, here are some ways to evict tenants without ever getting sued.
What are the risks involved in evicting a tenant without going to court?
The risk of evicting a tenant without going to court is that you will be legally liable for any damages and/or injuries. You would also have to pay the tenant's moving expenses, and could potentially be sued if any other tenants in the building are harmed. If you do decide to go through with the eviction process, make sure your eviction notice is clear and concise.
Four ways to evict tenants.
The first way is to change the locks. This is a good option for landlords who don't want to go through the expense of evicting a tenant by going to court, or landlords who are not interesting in dealing with tenants at all.
The second way is to evict tenants using an informal letter. This option will only be available if your tenant has not lived on the property for more than 30 days, if they cooperate with you, and have left some belongings behind. The third option is to sue the tenant in small claims court. This will require a formal complaint that includes an itemized list of damages against the tenant. The fourth option is to use an eviction notice instead of a formal lawsuit. An eviction notice will only work for tenants who have been living on your property for more than three months and do not cooperate with you. In order to issue an eviction notice, you'll need a reason why they should leave such as failure to pay rent or violation of contract terms and conditions.
How much do these methods cost?
Some of these methods require the landlord to pay a lawyer or bail bondsman, while others are relatively cheap.
The cost will be different person-to-person, but you can expect the eviction process to take between two to six months and cost between $3,000 and $9,000.
Conclusion
Tenants can be difficult to evict without going to court. However, there are steps landlords can take to get tenants out of the rental property and avoid a costly eviction lawsuit.
