Is anyone going through the very painful, expensive and drawn out adversarial court action to evict a tenant who doesn’t honour their written commitments…i.e. no rent, smashes the place up, won’t respond to calls or letters etc…and refuses to move seems to be what everyone recommends, throwing up their hands saying – what else can you do ??
Given the tenants have not respected any of the rights of the Landlord….I’m not after methods that fully respect the rights of the tenants.
I’ve recently managed to sidestep all of the courts and lawyers etc, by evicting newly acquired tenants with a forklift and truck. It was stressful and confrontational..but way better than using ‘string it out…let’s write another letter’ lawyers.
I’d be interested to hear other methods that Landlords have successfully employed in the past that are quick, cheap and effective ??
Cheers,
Dazzling
“No point having a cake if you can’t eat it.”
I’ve heard of people using ‘hired muscle’ to get the tenants on their way. Not breaking legs or anything but just putting the fear of god into them. You’d be surprised how many people would be willing to do this for you for a nominal fee.
Also a friend of mine who had a flat mate in a share situation, simply changed the locks when they were out and never saw them again. He even got to keep their stuff!
Cheers G7,
Yeah, I’ve heard of that – that’s what prompted me to ask the question…haven’t had to need that service yet, but may well do in the future if the situation calls for it. Some people simply do not respond to reason / phone calls / or legal letters, which negates the solicitors instantly…especially if the tenants are illiterate.
I don’t suppose there’s a hotline number for Landlords to call at the local Hells Angels chapter that anyone knows about ??
Any other Landlords had success with non conventional methods ??
Cheers,
Dazzling
“No point having a cake if you can’t eat it.”
I think that you might find either of these suggestions to be illegal. If the case goes to the tribunal you will have no legs to stand on.
I think applying the letter of the law is the way to go. This is where a good PM is worth their weight in gold!
Sometimes saving money on PM can end up costing you a fortune when you really need them – bit like insurance.
I hope it all turns out for the best.
Simon Macks
Finance Broker
[email protected]
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
Simon,
You’re absolutely right, and if it didn’t cost so much time and money (lost rent being the biggest, but also holding costs and legal fees and massages to relieve the stress of it all) that’s exactly what I would have written as a reply.
I suppose I was asking – other than legal means – what has worked for Landlords in the past.
Perhaps my situation is a little different, as I am mainly concerned with industrial tenants where the overall circumstances are quite a bit different….no such thing as a tribunal to the best of my knowledge…no such thing as the RTA..and of course it is less traumatic for the recalcitrant tenant as they can still crawl back to their house at night…you aren’t turfing them out of that – just their place of business.
The thrust behind my question was my mentor has had a court order issued against a non-paying tenant and the bailiffs just turfed him out. The process was started in mid December last year and has cost him over $4K in legal fees and applications, and the holding costs and lost rent is up around the $18K mark.
My suggestion was the ‘other’ route for about $1K when I heard about this event..and his reply was…in hindsight “You’re probably right..may try that next time”.
The trouble I find is that the glib expression “seek independent legal advice” sounds absolutely fantastic on a superficial level, but stooping down to the nitty gritty when you are forced to get down in the gutter with these illiterate animals, wearing your tuxedo and carrying a big set of Law encyclopedia’s doesn’t help you much.
Cheers,
Dazzling
“No point having a cake if you can’t eat it.”
check out http://www.landlordaction.co.uk/index2.html
for a UK perspective.
Hassle them to the point of harrasment. Late night phone calls, turn up several times a day and ask them why they havent left yet. Do this many times a day it may not be legal, but it works. My mum who is 5 foot tall managed to get some really bad tenants out of a unit in a week when the PM couldnt get them out at all. F the RTA make ur own rules with the low lifes. Also advise them of Major structural work that need to be carried out as its an emergency and move all there stuff out and smash half of it to carry out the work.
Make sure you have insurance and burn the place down (with no one in it of course). They can’t live there if it isn’t habitable. As a bonus you get a demolished and leveled block all ready for re-development.
You could just wait outside until they leave and smash a bottle over their head every day until they move out.
You could also ring up all the local real-estate agents and inform them that the tenents don’t pay and are bad tenents. It won’t get them out quicker, but they wont be able to curse some other poor landlord.
The law is there to protect genuine honest people who may have come upon hard times or through no fault of their own are having trouble. Unfortunately it also protects the bad eggs (dog eggs?) who feel everyone owes them.
Hey, you could also plant some illegal substances on the property and call the police. You are allowed to evict based on the tenents undertaking illegal activities there. A couple of bags of marjiuana must be cheaper than the 2+ months of legal wrangling.
Seriously though if you seek to get rid of bad tenents by “alternate negotiations” make sure you are actually at worst only being a bit on the shady side and not actually breaking the law. If you break the law and something goes wrong there’ll be hell to pay and you’d end up wishing you’d stuck to the legal methods.
[buz2]
Dazzling said:
“I suppose I was asking – other than legal means – what has worked for Landlords in the past.”
Sorry, Dazzling. I know you’re frustrated, but asking people for illegal ways of dealing with tenants is not helpful to the Forum. I’m locking this thread.
kay henry
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