Besides Eviction, What Is the Quickest Way to Get Rid of a Bad Tenant?

Having a bad tenant in your rental property can be a nightmare. Tenants can make your life difficult in a number of ways: paying rent late, destroying your property or being a nuisance to neighbors. Sometimes you may have no choice but to evict, but this process is costly and can take time. Try more creative ways to get rid of a difficult tenant before starting an eviction procedure.

If you are prepared to pay to get rid of the tenant, you can offer what’s known as cash-for-keys. This is a payment that in effect buys out your obligations under the lease and compensates the tenant for moving. Although it does involve a cash payment which you may find unpalatable, it will likely be much cheaper and quicker than an eviction. Cash-for-keys is appealing to many tenants because it gives them a way out of a lease without having to pay any unpaid rent and it also gives them cash to help fund their next move or pay the deposit at another rental.

Sometimes just the threat of going to court will work to move a problem tenant. When you discuss it with him, you should be sure to mention the effect such a public record has on his credit and on his prospects of renting elsewhere in the future.

If you have a month-to-month tenant, one simple way to get rid of her may be to raise the rent. Providing you give notice, you are within your rights to do so, and if you make the rent hike fairly substantial, she may well be motivated to move.

The simplest way to get rid of a tenant, if you are near the end of a lease, is simply not to renew. Once the lease is up, you are under no obligation to renew with the same person, and so long as you fulfill any notice requirements, you can simply ask him to leave.

Many cities and towns have nonprofit fair housing coalitions or other sources of low cost legal help for tenants and landlords. Check if the one in your district offers a mediation service. Perhaps what’s needed is to sit down with your tenant along with a neutral party to sort out your problems.