[mrWayne]

I previously lived in a state and had tenants that were employed and caused no problems moving in and out. I now live in an area of a state where none of my tenants are employed. They are all on some kind of government aid. It is not uncommon for tenants to borrow the money to move into my rental house then not have the money to pay the next month's rent. I have inexpensive houses but still have all the expenses to make them safe and healthy to live in. There is not much way to check out the past of the potential renters so I quit trying. I know all of what I am suppose to do to get reliable renters but they don't work in my area. The tenants can move in for one month and get behind on their rent. The police will tell them they don't have to move until evicted, so they sometime hold my house hostage for free rent. I know I can just sell my houses and give up but I don’t want to yet. I have to threaten the tenants that I am going to move their stuff out to get them to move. I don't plan to break the law but I think it should also be illegal for tenants to abuse the eviction laws. Has anyone actually removed a tenant's property to get them out before eviction and what did the tenants have to do to be compensated for your moving them out? Can the police arrest you if you move a tenant out before eviction? I doesn’t make sense that the landlord cannot arrest a tenant if they don't move out without an eviction. It would seem fair that a tenant would also have to be under a law that they would have to go through the court if the were moved without legal eviction. My tenants do not have the money to pay their rent and they don't have the money to sue, but they know they can get free rent if they don't move. Neither do I have the money to sue. "Will somebody help me!!" like the man in the TV commercial.

[MissAdvice]

Hum, seems like a real problem. Contact a real estate attorney in your area and ask them if this can be put in your lease agreement. Perhaps something like, if rents aren't paid, your property may be used as collateral. Then on the other hand you risk endangerment from the tenant. They may be insane. I don't know if this still exist, but if you are referring to Section 8, they use to have a program that paid for tenant damages. In other words if the tenant damaged your property they would pay for it, however in the state of Md, this is no longer. I had a landlord hold my property before it wasn't because of unpaid rents, it was because I was moving out, and he felt that he put a lot of work into the property and then I moved one year later. He changed the locks on me one day, and I wasn't able to get my property, and to be honest it was nothing that I could do or prove.

[ballengerb1]

The tenants you describe are a problem but the laws vary from state to state and even from one city to another. Make sure you understand the laws in you area and never touch their belongings prior to eviction. Also, never have their utilities cut prior to eviction. You need to do a more thorough screening of your tenants and be more selective. You may have more vacancies but you will have less trouble. The easiest step is to increase your security deposit to double. In most states you can't use the security towards rent but it will screen out the less qualified person.

[excon]

Hello mr:

While the advice given by MissAdvice, is something every landlord WANTS to do, it's contrary to your state landlord tenant law, and that law takes precedence.

It sounds like you're a hands on landlord, so that's not the problem. You just happen to be in a market where the landlord business sucks. That's a market phenomenon, not a landlord/tenant phenomenon. Even great restaurants go broke.

You're railing here against tenants. Sure, lots of them are crooks. However, I've had MORE than my share of landlords who are crooked as the day is long.

Maybe you should relocate your business to a better neighborhood.

excon

[excon]

Hello again, mr:

As I mentioned, since the taking of a tenant's property is contrary to landlord tenant law, the fact that he's a tenant, or the fact that he's being evicted, has nothing to do with the removal of the property.

Therefore, I would ask, what does anybody do when their property is taken? They call the police and they file lawsuits.

excon

[LisaB4657]

Sorry, excon. I have to spread it around some.

excon is 100% right (as usual). If I were a tenant and the landlord took my belongings without going through a lawful eviction I would immediately call the police and have the landlord arrested for theft.

What you are talking about is the practice of "distraint", where a landlord holds the tenant's property until the tenant pays the rent. This is illegal in NJ and I'm pretty sure it's illegal in most if not all of the rest of the states.

I understand your frustration but you're going to have to follow the rules if you're going to play the landlord/tenant game. I suggest that you go to Nolo: Law Books, Legal Forms and Legal Software and check out their selection of books on landlord/tenant practice in your state.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes if the landlord touches or moves the property of the tenant, while the tennat had legal rights to be in the house ( not evicted) you can be charged criminally for tresspass and perhaps theft, also they can sue you in civil court for the value of all of their property. ( basically they will end up owning the house when they are done with you and maybe your hosue also)

And I am sorry if you say you can't rent to the right people, but sorry that is plain bull, there are good tennatns in all cities, now if you own housees in the worst part of town, or are basic slums ( heck I own a few of those too) But what you want in those is section 8 housing where the government actually pays most of the housing ( a wonderful program, rent is always there, checks seldom bounce)

There are specific systems in law, also check your state law on weekly rentals, if they allow you to only give a week notice to evict but basically keep the eviction notices preprinted and servve them on the first day they are late. And of course that is why you get that deposit, to cover that month you don't get paid when you evict.
But in the end honestly, or see if you can rent out as multi family and rent rooms out on a weekly to people,
But evicting is just normal in the lower valued rentals.

[MissAdvice]

The tenant can only call the police and make a statement, if there are actually no witnesses to show that you Mr Wayne was at the property how can one prove who did it. If it is a breaking and entering, you get fingerprints etc.maybe witnesses.. Perhaps they give a description of what they saw, but what if your out of town cousin took it. Secondly if you have the keys to your property how do you prove who did it. Lets take example the movie training day, when the cop stole her money from her home, how can you prove that cop did it, who is say that the woman lied about having the money, or the property in your case. It's a hard case to prove. They would have to actually write down the license plate of the vehicle moving the stuff, But what if the license place had a cardboard that read stolen tags and made up some fake license plate. How can this case be proven. The witness would have to take pictures of the person stealing and post it on american wanted other then this, who could prove that it was you, one of your guys, or a family member of the tenant ?

[LisaB4657]

It's pretty simple... the tenant's property is in the landlord's possession and the landlord is refusing to allow the tenant to get it. The landlord is depriving the tenant of their property. There's nothing else that the tenant has to prove. The burden then shifts to the landlord to show that the tenant has access to their property and the landlord is not keeping it.

[ScottGem]

To address MissAdvices's comment. If a tenant goes out and returns to find the apartment empty then there may not be any direct evidence that the landlrod cleaned them out. The answer is still to call the police and investigate. Usually a complete cleanout will leave some trace. Someone noticing the moving van or other clues.

Bottomline line, though, is it IS theft and the police are charged with investigating cases of theft.

I also agree with Chuck that here are ways you can check out prospective renters.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes I never got to arrest anyone for this as a police officer, but as a process server ( part time job while a police officer) I have served several landlords with civil suits on this issue, the courts look very badly on landlords that break the law and violate their tennatns rights, This also violates some constitutional rights, where they could even sue for more than actual damages.