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!