Even if you choose your tenants carefully, you might find yourself in a situation where you would have to evict them. Eviction happens for many reasons, and you may find this difficult, but it is part of being a landlord. If you have found yourself in a situation where it feels like you need to ask your tenant to leave, here are few things you need to know before doing so.
 1. You Need to Have a Valid Reason
It is not wise to start the eviction process without having a valid and lawful reason. In most cases, reasons such as nonpayment of rent, destruction of the property, getting noise complaints from others living in the building are all considered valid. Violating the rental agreement is another common reason. For example, if you find the tenant having pets when you agreed that no pets were allowed. Finally, health and safety hazards caused by the tenant are accepted by the court as well.
2. Understanding Eviction Law
Eviction laws vary from one place to another, so you first need to check and understand the laws of your state of residence before you decide on taking any legal actions. Make sure to take these laws into consideration when writing your lease agreement. If you find writing the lease agreement yourself a challenging task, the team at https://www.samlaw.net/practice-areas/landlord-tenant-law/evictions/ suggests hiring a lawyer to do so for you. In the event that your lease may have had any rules or stipulations that don’t align with laws in your state, always consult an attorney before you ask your tenant to leave, seeing as your tenant could possibly use this against you in the court of law.
3. Talk to Your Tenants
If you don’t want to deal with the eviction process or you feel that the law might not be on your side for any reason, you can try talking to your tenant about the situation. If you have a good relationship with them, they could agree to leave the property without causing any problems. On the other hand, if they refuse to leave, never take matters into your own hand. Removing your tenant’s belongings, changing the lock of the rental property, or trying to evacuate them in any other way will only get you in trouble and won’t help your situation.
4. Give an Eviction Notice
If reasoning with your tenant fails, then they have left you with no choice. You must give formal notice of eviction. The notice should include the original rental agreement signed, all payment records, and any emails or phone records between you and the tenant. An eviction notice can come in different forms, as well; a quit notice, for example, is sent for nonpayment of rent. Unconditional quit notice is given if serious destruction was inflicted by the tenant on the property or if the tenant was found doing illegal activity on the property. Cure or quit notices are sent when the tenant violates a stipulation in the rental agreement, and these notices give the tenant some time to fix the situation or else leave.
In some cases, after completing the proper paperwork and presenting it to the tenant, you have to file it with the court in your county. From tenant’s side, they can request additional information from you if they still feel unsure about the reason for eviction. Besides, tenants can seek legal counsel and fight if they feel they’ve been wrongfully evicted or discriminated against. In all cases, tenants have the right to take steps to overturn the notice.
In conclusion, evictions are time-consuming and costly, so screening your tenants thoroughly is really important. Always do a background check to see their rental history, bank information, and employment records before you decide to rent someone your property.