
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.
Tips
Offering a tenant a "way out" of a lease without consequences, such as fines or eviction, may be the best way to empty your rental property and make way for the next tenant.
Cash-for-Keys
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.
Threat of Eviction
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.
Raise the Rent
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.
Non-Renewal
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.
Community Mediation
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.
References
- LegalZoom: How to Evict a Tenant From a Rental Property
- RentPrep: How to Get Rid of Tenants Without Eviction - Best Two Methods
- Bay Management Group: How to Get a Tenant Out Without Evicting Them
- Nolo. "Tenant Rights to a Livable Place." Accessed March 24, 2020.
- Justia. "Major Repairs and Maintenance." Accessed March 24, 2020.
- Washington Law Help. "I am a Tenant Living in a Foreclosed Property. What are My Rights?" Accessed March 24, 2020.
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook - Glossary," Page 5. Accessed March 24, 2020.
- Bornstein Law. "A glance at owner move-in evictions in 2018." Accessed March 24, 2020.
- Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. "Student or Not, You Have Rights as a Tenant." Accessed March 24, 2020.