As a Property Manager did you ever have a tenant that takes you all the way through the judicial system? This may be due to the refusal to pay their rent or are they are squatters. I have had this
experience twice in my career. I don't think it is luck, it is your tenant trusting your word, while trusting you. I believe this is due to the initial tenant evaluation, plus my ability to work with a tenant when they are having a rough month. It happens when a tenant stops communicating or the communication is untruthful. This is how this case began. The tenant was late, making broken promises. Was given a five day notice. It appeared that she had removed her belongings, locked the premises, keeping the keys. There is a little known law, that your lease continues until you have returned your keys, to the designated place that you made payment to.
Now it becomes a legal matter. As long as she has possession of the keys, she has control over the property. The property owner decided to take her to court, for the past due amount. She was given a date to appear at the court. Since the date of the court appearance, is after the first of the next month of the lease. While continuing to hold the the keys, a financial amendment will be added to the lawsuit. An additional months rent will be added to the amount of the lawsuit.
If she does or does not appear in court, the lease speaks for itself. The judge will issue an order of removal of tenant. The Property Manager along with the court representative ( in this state is the Sheriff's Dept), will meet at the location. If the tenant refuses entry into the premises the Sheriff will arrest her, for trespassing. The tenant will be advised she has 5 minutes to remove any belongings she can, the remainder will be placed in storage at her expense. While this is happening the locks and the overhead door opener combination are being changed
The next step is take a video or still pictures of the damage. Clean out any belongings, place them in a storage locker. This is a billable expense. Get two contractor bids for repair of damage. You need to advertise this premises for rent, in order to recoup this as a loss.
You go back to court again, to recoup your losses. You have lost rent, repair damage, storage of belongings, lock changes, lawyers fees, new court costs. Make three copies one for you, one for the judge and one for the defendant, the tenant. You don't necessarily need a lawyer in small claims court. Each state is different. You do need to follow your states Landlord Tenant Act, federal and state laws, regarding the eviction process. If you represent the owner of the property in small claims court, you should have a notarized statement that allows you to do that. This is separate from the management agreement. This article does not replace attorneys advice, it is my accounting of one experience I had.
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