When Landlords Should Serve Notice of Eviction by a Walnut Creek Property Manager

Evictions are a daunting task, and let’s face it, not one any landlord wants to deal with. The most common reason for eviction is the failure of a tenant to pay rent. Although it’s not an easy situation, if you have a problem tenant, it will not go away. You need to address the problem and do so right away.

Tenancy is an investment and if your tenant doesn’t pay rent, you lose out financially. After all, you have mortgages to pay and maintenance upkeep to attend to. In the end, it all boils down to finding a qualified tenant who has credible qualifications to help you sleep at night.

So, when should you start taking action if a tenant fails to pay rent?

Here at Stokley Properties, a Contra County property management company, our policy with rent payment is the rent is due between the 1st and 5th of every month, but late on the 6th. Now, people have problems, and situations come up. Thus, communication is vital.

Generally, when your renter is a good tenant who still wants to live in the unit, they’ll have a legitimate reason as to why they didn’t pay the rent on time. They’ll call you right away and pay within terms you can accept.

Any tenant who keeps an open line of communication with you is a tenant that will typically get the rent out on time.

On the other hand, if the tenant is not paying you rent, then you can – and should – evict them. To begin the eviction process you want to send the tenant a 3-day notice to pay rent or quit.

A 3-day notice is essentially a legal document that allows you to move forward with an eviction or moving somebody out if you ultimately had to. The notice gives the tenant a chance to correct the situation by paying the rent that is due. If they pay within the three days, the tenancy continues.

Once you’ve decided to evict a tenant, it’s strongly recommended you hire a qualified, professional evictions attorney. It’s important you do things right the first time because if one thing is messed up, the judge will throw it out and the whole process will start over. This will not only take up your time, but cost you more money as well.

After all, the longer the non-paying renter is living in your unit, the longer it’s going to take you to get a new tenant and start collecting rent. Although you have to pay for your attorney, it saves you money in the long run by getting it done right the first time.

It’s never fun or easy to evict a tenant, so hire an evictions attorney to handle the process for you. Having an eviction attorney on your side will get you on the road to renting your property out to a good, reliable tenant.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.