I have a tenant that is eight months behind in rent. There is no written lease. Is the fact that for over ten years the tenant has paid (although always late) consititue a contract (lease)? And I am posting a "vacate premise" notice giving the tenant ten days to vacate. This is in PA, and what can I do if the tenant refuses to leave or pay?

I'm not sure of the laws in PA, but in WI:

You need to supply the tenant with a written 30-day notice to vacate the premises. They are still required to pay the back rent, as long as you can prove they were on the premises for that time frame. If they do not move after you have given them the written notice, you will need to go to court and file an eviction. They will schedule a hearing and in all likelihood, evict the tenant.

You will most likely have to then file a small claims/civil suit(it depends which based upon the amount that they owe to you) in order to get a judgment for the back rent. Then if you do happen to win, you need to find a way to collect, which is almost always impossible.

My take: I've been a landlord for 4 years now and I will never again rent to anyone that I don't know... there's too much BS

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Originally Posted by jbratkovich

I have a tenant that is eight months behind in rent. There is no written lease. Is the fact that for over ten years the tenant has paid (although always late) consititue a contract (lease)? and I am posting a "vacate premise" notice giving the tenant ten days to vacate. This is in PA, and what can I do if the tenant refuses to leave or pay?

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The tenant is month to month under the same terms as rent is paid - if rent is paid monthly the oral lease is one month. Nothing changes that, not the period of tenancy.

I found this info and the forms are available on line (I am not in PA):

The Eviction Notice - The landlord must give the tenant written notice of the reason for the eviction and the date that the landlord wants the tenant to leave. The eviction notice must be personally delivered to the tenant or posted on the dwelling. It the lease does not state how much notice is required, the general rule is as follows: If the term has ended, or it the landlord claims the tenant has breached the lease, the landlord must give the tenant thirty (30) days notice if the lease is for less than one year (this is usually month-to-month), and ninety (90) days notice if the lease is one year or more. If the tenant is behind in the rent and has an oral lease with the landlord, the landlord needs to give only fifteen (15) days notice between April 1st and September 1st, but thirty (30) days notice between September 1st and April 1st. It the tenant is not out of the property by the end of the eviction notice, the landlord must follow the procedure through the District Justice's office as set forth in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 below.
1. Complaint - The landlord files the complaint with the appropriate District Justice's office, and the landlord receives a yellow copy of the Complaint. The pink copy of the Complaint will be served on the tenant by the Constable, who may hand the tenant the Complaint or tape the Complaint to the door of the property. The tenant will also get an orange copy of the same Complaint through the mail. The Complaint says that a hearing will be held at the District Justice's office on a particular day and time. The tenant should tell the District Justice if the tenant intends to come to the hearing and present his/her side of the case. The Complaint always requests possession of the property and may ask for back rent or damages as well. If the landlord is also suing for back rent or damages, see Suits for Money. If the tenant has a claim to file against the landlord, this claim, called a "counterclaim", may be filed before the hearing. Both Complaints will then be heard at the same time.

What constitutes a lease is the tenant paying you rent for the right to occupy the premises. So clearly a lease exists.

According the rule that Judy found, you have to give a 30 day notice.