When is Evicting Your Tenant The Wrong Decision? The Truth About Rentals
Eviction is never an easy process for landlords to go through. Typically, the only time you would want to consider an eviction is as a last resort when you have already exhausted all of your options. However, sometimes evicting your tenant can be a poor choice.
Eviction is a costly process that takes quite a bit of time to complete, so you should never make the decision to do so without properly weighing your options. Sometimes, even after you spend all of the time and money necessary to pursue an eviction, it may not go through, and you can find yourself even further behind.
So, let’s take a moment to weigh the options and consider why evicting your tenant may not always be the right choice. In the meantime, if you want to learn how to protect your mortgage from late payments, missed rents and more, we want to help you. That is why we are offering you a free strategy call today, all you need to do is click the link below.
How Much Do Evictions Cost?
In Canada, evictions can be incredibly costly, not only can landlords find themselves out thousands of dollars pursuing an eviction, but the time it takes to go through this process will only make it a more expensive decision to make.
So, let’s take a look at the numbers.
Evicting Your Tenant Takes Time
Depending on the province, evictions can take between two and three months to complete. This is due to a few different factors.
First, in order to file for an eviction, you must wait a set amount of time before filing a notice to terminate your renter’s tenancy – provided the reason for eviction is non-payment of rent. In some provinces such as Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, a landlord can provide an eviction notice as soon as one day after rent is considered late. However, in other provinces it can take roughly two weeks without payment for a landlord to be permitted to file for eviction.
Then, if your tenant chooses to fight the notice, you will have to take the matter to court. This process can take anywhere from a week to approximately two months depending on the province and the current delays the court is facing.
Finally, sometimes you may need to hire a sheriff to enforce the order for the tenant to be removed. While in most provinces this process takes less than a week, in Ontario the wait time for a sheriff to uphold these orders can reach as high as 30 days.
Evicting Your Tenant Takes Money
Eviction can also cause your wallet to take quite the hit. Not only are you going to miss out on rent payments before and during these proceedings, but you will also need to fork out the costs associated with evicting your tenant.
First, you will need to pay for the legal fees in order to go through with the eviction hearing, this price can range by province and the length of the proceedings but typically will fall between $400 and $2000 on average.
Then, the court fees in order to file the claim usually fall between $50 and $100.
Finally, if you need a sheriff to enforce the order you will need to pay sheriff fees. These can range between $50 and $400.
Overall, this can add up to an average of up to $4000 before you factor in lost rent.
Discover How To Evict A Tenant With This Step By Step Guide
Sometimes Evicting Your Tenant Can Land You in Legal Trouble
Not only is eviction a long and expensive process, but it can also land you in some hot water if you are not careful. Here are some circumstances where evicting your tenant may land you in legal trouble.
Discriminatory Evictions
You are not allowed to evict a person based on factors such as race, religion, family status, sex, sexuality or nationality. If you attempt to do this, your tenant is likely to strike back with an expensive discrimination lawsuit.
Retaliatory Eviction
If your tenant as filed a formal complaint to the housing authority or landlord and tenant board regarding you and your property, evicting your tenant may become a problem. Even if the eviction has nothing to do with the complaints leveraged against you, filing for eviction too soon after a tenant has filed a complaint may be seen as retaliatory by a judge. This can result in your eviction being denied and potentially force you to pay some hefty fines as well.
Accepting Partial Rent Payments
If you accept a partial payment for late rent, evicting your tenant can cause problems. By accepting the payment, you are potentially giving up your right to evict that tenant for this month. So, once you have filed for eviction, you need to avoid accepting partial payment unless you plan to abandon the eviction proceedings and move forward with the tenant, otherwise you may need to start the process over again.
Withholding Rent Due to Issues with the Property
Sometimes, you may want to evict a tenant for withholding rent but are not able to do so. If the tenant has alerted you to any major health or safety issues with the building, they are permitted to hold back some or all of the rent until the problem is resolved. In this case you cannot evict them and instead must work to resolve the issue.
Consider Coming to a Solution Before Evicting Your Tenant
Next time you find yourself considering eviction as the solution to your tenant issues, take the time to consider finding another solution with your tenant.
If a good tenant falls onto hard times and cannot pay rent, you may be able to work out a repayment schedule with them to get things back on track. Just make sure to get the agreement in writing before you begin accepting repayment from the tenant.
Or, if you would like a tenant to vacate your unit without the hassle of eviction, you can consider offering a cash incentive to the tenant to willingly terminate their own tenancy. This strategy is known as cash for keys and can be an excellent way to streamline the termination of an unwanted tenancy.
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