Pay your rent. That was easy. Next question. 🙂
But let’s say a tenant gets a 3 day notice and can’t pay. What happens? Well, we can’t give LEGAL advice so please read below as just general information. The eviction process is complex. It’s reasonable to assume that we might know it better than you. So rather than take advantage of that fact, we try to do our best to explain the process.
In most cases, rent is due on the 1st, late on the 2nd, with a 3 day grace period before late fees accrue (normally $25 + $10/day). If a tenant is going to be late with rent, it’s best to let us know in advance. We’ll typically add a note to a tenants page with then information they’ve supplied us about when they can pay. That way, when it comes time to take the next step in an eviction process, if there is an accepted plan in place we can hold off proceeding as long as the committed payment terms are kept. Note that you may still be responsible for late fees, and not all proposed payment plans can be agreed to, but we do our best to be flexible. Especially for tenants who have otherwise been paying on-time. Worst case is we have to proceed with the steps below, but you’ll be able to stop it by paying*
But what if a tenant didn’t notify us, or are simply unable to pay? On the 3rd of the month, we’ll typically see who hasn’t paid and try to reach out to them to see what’s going on before late fees kick in on the 4th. Failing an agreed payment plan, a 3 day notice is typically issued on the 4th. The 3 day notice simply states that you need to pay your rent in 3 days, or vacate the property. If you pay your rent+late fees in those three days, no futher action is taken. The other option which isn’t the best for anyone, is that the tenant simply vacate within those three days. That avoids an eviction, but note a tenant who vacates is still required to pay any previous balance any lost rent due to leaving with a broken lease.
If after 3 days you’re still in the property, haven’t paid, and haven’t come up with an agreed plan, then eviction is filed. Typically at the JP court on Preston, downtown. At that point, a tenant can still able to pay to stop the process* but the clock is ticking. When we file, the eviction paperwork is taken by the JP court and given to the constables office. They then serve notice to the tenant. They’ll try to serve it in person 3 times. If after 3 times they can’t reach the tenant, they’ll ask the judge for alternate service which allows them to post notice on the tenants door. The timing of this process ranges anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks. It’s normally 3-4 days till a tenant is served after we file.
After service, the court date is set for 1 week in advance. If payment is made anytime before court, we can dismiss*. Note that once an eviction filed, a fee of $125 will be added to a tenants ledger to pay for court costs. If payment isn’t made before the court date, it’s likely that the judge will rule for the property owner and at that point, give the property owner a legal judgement against the tenant for rent due + court costs. The judge will also give the tenant ~ 7 days to vacate.
Continuing the process at worst cast, let’s say the tenant STILL doesn’t leave after the time given by the judge. At that point the property owner can file a Writ of possession. At that point, it may STILL not be too late for the tenant*, however once a Writ is filed, a $150 charge is added to the tenants ledger. When the WRIT is filed, the constable will come back out and post a notice on your door that you have ~24 hours to vacate. The timeline varies, I’ve seen it happen in 1 day, I’ve seen it take a week. Once that notice is sent, they can come back as soon as 24 hours. When they do, that’s bad news. A moving truck comes with them and the items are removed, and placed into storage.
In summary, there are lots of different tracts that can be taken with non payment of rent. But if no payment/plan is made, and a tenant hasn’t left, it’s normally like this:
1st: Rent due
2nd: Rent late
3rd: Contact made with tenant for update.
4th: Late fee, 3 day notice.
7th: Eviction filed.
10th: Notice of eviction served by the constable. (Est of 3 days to serve. This can vary)
17th: Court date (one week after service)
24th: “Writ date”. Date judge gives for tenant to leave, and owner to file for possession.
27th: Constable serves WRIT (est of 2 days after filing. This can vary)
29th: Constable shows up with moving van, tenant belongs taken to storage.
What’s up with all the *’s? For chronic late payers, those we’ve had to file on, those who are late right away, those we feel will continue to fall behind, we may elect to continue with the evictio process even if you can pay. This is very rare, and we’ll always explain when this is the case and why.