How to Rid Yourself of Bad Tenants Without Eviction

In 2016, landlords evicted 41,178 people from California rental properties. If you’re a landlord, you might have evicted some people, too.

Evictions are a regular yet frustrating part of owning rental properties. No matter how hard you try to find good tenants, you might have a bad one now and then.

If you’re trying to determine how to get rid of a tenant without using the legal eviction process, you might be interested in knowing that you have options. There are ways to get rid of a tenant without going to court.

Dealing with bad tenants is stressful and frustrating, and the eviction process is costly and time-consuming. Here are several things you should know if you want to learn how to get rid of tenants without going through the legal process.

Understand the Law and Why it Exists

Every state has landlord-tenant laws. As a landlord, you must know what these are and how they work. Additionally, the government created additional landlord-tenant rules due to the Coronavirus, and understanding these laws is also critical.

States have landlord-tenant laws to protect tenants. These laws dictate what you can do as a landlord, and they control the way you handle evictions. The laws prevent you from using various techniques for evictions.

If you break one of these laws, you could face harsh consequences. For example, if you change the locks on a tenant’s apartment, you violate a landlord-tenant law. In this case, the tenant could sue you, and you would likely lose.

Knowing these laws is not enough. You must also follow them and handle everything according to the rules.

Take Steps to Prevent Choosing Bad Tenants

Knowing that there are laws you must follow should persuade you to develop effective tenant-screening procedures for all your properties. If you have an effective screening process, you might reduce the number of bad tenants you get.

Therefore, if you want to learn how to get rid of a bad tenant, it begins by learning how to choose the right tenants. For example, do you run background checks on every applicant?

Do you check a person’s credit before approving their application? What steps do you take to weed out the applicants that seem too risky? If you don’t have a good screening procedure in place, talk to a property management firm.

A property manager can give you advice and suggestions that you can implement. You can also hire them to handle your tenant-selection process.

How to Get Rid of a Tenant: Methods You Can Try

Here are some of the best options you can use for evicting a tenant that you no longer want.

Ask Them to Leave

Have you considered asking them to leave? While many tenants know their tenant rights, some don’t. If they know their rights, they might refuse to leave, knowing that the law protects them.

If they don’t know their rights, they might assume they have to leave. Therefore, they might willingly move out. In either case, asking them to go is a great place to start.

If a tenant leaves willingly, you will have the solution you wanted. If they don’t leave, you can pursue a different technique and will have lost nothing. You could even send an eviction notice to them. Receiving a letter might encourage them to move out.

Notify Them That You Are Not Renewing Their Lease

When you have a bad tenant that you want to evict without the legal process, you could wait until their lease ends. A month before the lease ends, you can send a letter stating that you are not renewing their lease.

As a landlord, you have the right to renew a person’s lease or choose not to renew it. You can explain the reason if you want, but you don’t have to explain yourself.

If you send a letter, make sure you include the date the lease ends and when the tenant should move out. Include your expectation in this letter and explain that you will pursue the eviction process if they do not move out by the date listed.

Raise the Rent

Another technique you can use when a tenant’s lease ends is raising the rent. You must notify the tenant in writing before their lease ends if you decide to use this option.

In the letter, you can explain that the rent is increasing on a specific date. You can list the amount the rent will be on this date. If you increase the rent enough, the tenant might start looking for a new place to live.

Tell Them You Are Suing Them

Threatening to sue a tenant is another technique you can use. You can explain that you will have no choice but to sue the tenant if he or she doesn’t move out. You’ll need a reason to sue them, though, so make sure you have one.

Some tenants might willingly leave if their landlord threatens them for fear of the consequences they might face. You can even explain the consequences they might encounter if you follow through with a lawsuit.

Pay Them to Leave

One last option you have is to pay a tenant to vacate the unit. If you really want a tenant to leave, offer them some cash. You can explain that you will pay them a specific amount of money if they move out by a stated date.

Many tenants will jump on an offer like this, as it’s free money. You can choose the amount you offer, and you could even negotiate with the tenant on a price you both agree to.

Hire a Property Manager to Handle the Evictions

If you want to know how to get rid of a tenant without going to court, ask a property management firm. Better yet, hire a property manager to handle your evictions.

As a rental property owner, you can hire a property management firm to take over one duty or all your duties. If you’re interested in learning more about how this works, contact us.

We offer property management services in the Orange County area of California. We’d love to hear from you.