What Does the Tenant Eviction Process Really Cost You?
Tenant eviction happens. It is one reality that every landlord and property manager in Burbank must face. No doubt, no landlord or property manager wants to go through this process. However, circumstances can force you to take action to evict a tenant. If you have been through this experience, you will know how it feels. However, if you have never experienced tenant eviction before, I will recommend that you learn from other landlord’s experience.
Most tenant eviction takes time and money. As a landlord or property manager, eviction cost you a lot of things. In previous articles, we discussed reasons why you may evict a tenant. We even discussed eviction process in California and other states in the United States. However, while most landlords and property manager know how eviction process works, most of them have no idea as to what tenant eviction really cost them.
Why Do Landlords Evict Tenants?
Tenant eviction can happen due to a number of reasons. One of the common reasons why landlord and property managers evict a tenant is due to failure to pay their rent on time. Since landlords want to make a profit from their rental property, it will be bad for business to keep a tenant who refuses to pay his rent or pay his rent on time.
Apart from the failure to pay rent, there are other reasons why a landlord may choose to evict a tenant. A landlord can choose a tenant who is involved in criminal activity. Causing property damage or breaking other rental agreements can lead to an eviction of the tenant. Some of these behaviors include but not limited to:
- Unapproved pets
- Too many people living in the rental property
- Indoor smoking without permission
- Third party renting of the property
- Noise
- Threat against other tenants
It is important to note that eviction takes time. When you are trying to evict a tenant, make sure you don’t break the law and you do it by the book. Normally, eviction process demands that you issue a tenant warning before you take him to court. In case of late payment, you should give the tenant some grace period after which you can take him to court. Avoid getting personal by cutting off essential utilities like water or light.
The Cost of An Eviction
- Monetary Cost
Eviction cost money. Going to court, issuing eviction warning, and the entire process cost money. It doesn’t matter if you are on top of the process or not, you will still lose some money. You will be out of rent the moment the tenant is outside of the grace period for rent. This period could take anywhere from 3 weeks to 5 weeks.
Court fees: You will also pay court fees which can range anywhere between $400 to $750. In some states, you will be required to pay more. In a situation where you are required to get a lawyer, you could end up paying up to $5000 in case the tenant decides to contest the eviction in court.
Clean fees: When you are done evicting the tenant, you will face the cleanup problem. If the tenant leaves some properties behind, you are not allowed to simply toss them or sell them. You are required by law to store them until the tenant comes back to reclaim them.
Other Cost
Apart from the monetary cost, there are other costs you could incur when trying to evict a tenant. The entire process may overwhelm you when you are not working with a property management company. No doubt, eviction cost time, energy, and can take the focus away from your business.
Final Thought
There is no easy eviction. Evicting a tenant from your property can ruin your reputation. It is important you avoid tenant eviction as much as possible. One of the best ways to avoid tenant eviction is by ensuring that you give your property only to the best tenants. To ensure this, you need to take tenant screening very seriously. You can be able to eliminate the occurrence of tenant eviction when you have best tenants. You can be able to limit the occurrence of tenant eviction when you are working with a property management company. Here at Los Angeles Property Management Group, we can help you avoid the cost of eviction by getting only the best tenants for you.
