I am the landlord of a house where renters moved in on August 1st of 2005. I had spoken to them in early July and they voiced their intention to stay until May- a 9 month lease. Their lease ended on July 31st, at which time they left town for the entire month to avoid resigning. When I was finally able to corner them on August 28th they said they were looking for a house and would be out in one month maybe two. Because they never signed an extension, they were living, by default, on a month to month basis. On September 5th I delivered a Notice of Termination, both in person and by certified mail. But when I spoke to them last evening to see if they needed assistance in leaving they told me they had no intention of leaving. Now, this is incredibly irrational and makes it difficult to reach any common ground, but they plan to stay until they find a home they are happy with. I however, need to begin showing the apartment but cannot do so without a move out date. Because of the costly and time consuming nature of eviction, I'd prefer to keep that as a last resort, even though my case is solid as my lawyer has said. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to squeeze out these tenants, short of cutting their electricity (which is against the Landlord Tenant Agreement in my state)? They are taking siege of my upstairs apartment and are refusing to leave, and I believe, trying to call my bluff.

I know my legal options at this point, but they are not responsive to threats of legal action, so I was hoping to perhaps harass them out of the apartment. They are making my life hell. Please help!

If they refuse to move out, your only recourse is to pursue the legal action route.

Sometimes you get tenants like this, it is just part of being a landlord.

But as you said, you know all your rights and the law, court should be easy as pie for you to get them out.

Are they continuing to pay rent? If so, I'm not sure I understand the problem. They are on a month to month basis. They should be able to give you notice when they find a house.

If they aren't paying rent, then you need to go the legal route.

Well, as I said they were on a month-month by default. I issued the termination of their lease at the beginning of this past month, and they are expected to vacate on the 30th of September. My lawyer has suggested that I not accept rent for October even if they continue to stay beyond that date, whether two or five days, because accepting rent can create a stickier situation if this goes to court. Therefore, my plan as of now is to take the loss for a couple of days (ideally only a couple), and force them out.

Their previous month to month, for August and September was not a problem. The problem arises with the issuance of the September 30th termination date. I don't want them to continue to live here. They have been incredibly disrespectful throughout their tenure at my house, broken the regulations of the lease on a number of occasions, and have all in all, been truants. In addition, I need someone who will sign for one year, nothing shorter, and they are paying well below the market value. As you see, there are a number of factors, not to mention I live in an incredibly cold climate and once winter approaches, renting my apartment could become near impossible, which is partly why I issued their notice of termination early, to allow myself sufficient time and adequate weather conditions to rent the unit.

Ok, then that answers it, do what your attorney advises. If they don't leave, then you have to evict.