BiggerPockets

Please assist....I have a drug dealer for a tenant. I actually saw the person dealing. My immediate reaction was to call the police and evict him. Then...several things came to my mind.

a) If I have him arrested, retaliation against me is possible and sever retaliation against my property is inevitable.
b) Just because somebody is arrested doesn't mean I can evict them. Yes, he is doing illegal stuff in my home. But I have no proof other than my word against his.
c) As an alternative, I could just ask him to leave because I know he is doing illegal stuff...........

Thoughts? I would love to kick the guy out without letting him know I'm doing it because he is a drug dealer....I value my personal safety as well as the safety of my investment........

"tenants agree to abide by all applicable laws....and all the laws pertaining to police".....

so...the answer is yes.

True. But when he asks how I knew he got arrested he will know that I turned him in......

I inherited the leases when I got the place. Also, in this part of town, no, nobody would contact me....in this part of town nobody really snitches on other people...........

Many are going to disagree with me here, but is he paying rent on time? Have you had any problems out of him? Have you had any complaints from anyone that would have brought this to your attention?

If you answer no to all of the above, then what you saw is purely speculative. You indicated that this home is in a bad neighborhood, since people "don't rat on each other." What are the chances that you are going to get someone much worse then this person as a tenant when you do kick him out?

Until the city contacts you or someone else does and puts you on warning.. Collect your rents. If he is dealing, he will either get busted or shot sooner of later and your problems will be solved.

I am assuming that this isn't taking place in an apartment building where other tenants could be hurt. If that is the case, then you need to take every action by working with your local law enforcement to get this scumbag out of your building. Yes, even if you could be retaliated against.

Do you have a RE lawyer you use? This would be worth a call.

You can't "call the police and evict him". You could call the police and they might or might not arrest him. I'm not sure they would accept "I saw him dealing" as evidence or not. You could call and speak with an officer.

Eviction is a totally separate process. Typically, you would need to post a order to stop the lease violation or to leave the property. You'll have to file for an eviction in court, go before a judge and get the eviction order. In some places you can do that in a couple of weeks. In others, it takes months. In the court appearance, the tenant may dispute what you say, and the judge will have to make a call as to whether or not the lease is being violated.

Given the situation, damage seems inevitable.

When is the lease up?

Furthermore...as the homeowner, check with your insurance carrier to see how you could be potentially liable if anything happens on your property.

The last thing you want to do is end up in court with somebody suing you for something you didn't know you were liable for.

Evicting someone for drugs is difficult. If you call the police, chances are that they will do NOTHING! Even if they set up a stakeout and arrest the guy, in the United States he will be presumed innocent until proven guilty. A guilty verdict could take months. Without a guilty verdict, the drug dealer is going to spew some of the usual lies in court and you will be VERY LUCKY if the judge evicts him (and it will cost you a bundle to go to court and have the eviction denied). What I'm trying to say is that evicting someone for something other than non-payment of rent is very difficult.

What I do is try to get the druggie NOT to pay rent. I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS TO YOU, but here's what I do. I wait until rent day, then I tell the druggie that I know that they've been selling drugs. I tell them that I have called the police and the drug task force; that I have neighbors taking pictures of their illegal activities; that I will do everything I can do to have them arrested; and that I will be evicting them! Then, I demand the rent.

They will be quite angry and refuse to pay the rent AND I'VE GOT THEM! Evicting for non-payment is easy. I've done this a bunch of times and it has worked every time. The only little problem is that drug dealers can be dangerous and you need to exercise caution and take precautions. Again, I'm not recommending this, but that is how I do it.

Regardless of what you do, you run the risk that your property will be damaged. Having a bunch of druggies constantly in your house smoking crack causes a lot of damage. An angry drug dealer can cause a lot of intentional damage (although I haven't had that happen very often). A drug raid causes a lot of damage. Having a drug dealer in your property is almost always a loser for the landlord.

Mike

Another thing - the manufacture of some drugs renders properties uninhabitable until a drug hazmat crew chemically cleans the property. In my neighborhood it's sometimes cheaper to bulldoze the property.

It's an inherited situation which sucks. Mike's unrecommendable solution makes sense. I am licensed to carry firearms in my state and always carry at least a .38 special revolver. However I know I'd definitely switch out the .38 Smith for the .45 Colt loaded with Corbons if I were faced with this scenario. I have yet to know of a single drug dealer that isn't armed. They are all about the business of selling drugs and getting involved in gun fights ruins their business so their not likely to use them....but still....

I just had another thought. When I was in insurance and we had to inspect properties in a particularly dangerous situation we would hire off duty police officers to accompany us. Look up security outfits in your area. I'm betting you could get an off duty cop through a security outfit to join you when you deliver the news Mike mentioned above. There will be two of you, he will be armed and will still have arrest powers if the druggie gets uppity and it will probably cost you 100-200 bucks.

Tim

I would carry either .45 comfortably. The 45 long colt you're thinking of is the old blackpowder round. Metallurgical advancements in gun frames and smokeless powder have made it possible to load the 45 long colt up to the ballistic equivalent of the .44 magnum.

I have to disagree with you on one thing. If you carry a gun at all I believe you have a moral responsibility to carry it at all times per the legal limitations of your license regardless of what situation you think you may be in. You're an armed citizen and as such are able and ethically bound to defend yourself and those unable to defend themselves. The only situation I've ever had to draw my gun in was when I was staying at my parent's house with my then wife in a posh million dollar home suburb of Chicago and someone came into the house at night. I came down the stairs shouting a warning that I had a pistol in each hand and was wearing only whitie tighties. I'm not sure which of the two frightened them more, inspiring them to leave. In all seriousness the cops responded excellently and were there in about 4 minutes...and found the garage door opened from the outside but the perpetrators gone. Total time I spent withouth police help and perpetrators in the house was about 6-10 minutes. Time enough for anything to happen. I learned that day that any situation can happen at any time.

Aside from that, if avoiding a situation that would require me to carry a gun means avoiding my own property that I own, I'm darn well legally carrying a gun and doing what I can legally and ethically do to rectify that situation. I'll be smart about it and will avoid violence at almost all costs but I will not be subject to a criminal's illegal, perceived power. Defusing a situation is always the best option - holding a gun in your hand and knowing you may have to take a human life with it sucks and it's not a place you want to be even when you have to be. However it's alot easier to defuse situations when you have teeth.

Jeff's idea on rennovation is an excellent idea, especially if code enforcement requires it (whether or not they have officially notified you). You can even do this one through the mail to defuse it ahead of a face to face meeting, "We've been notified that we will have to make repairs to the property per code enforcement. As the property will be uninhabitable during the rennovation process we must terminate your lease effective..." Makes it seem you are more of the "victim" of the "government" while being vague enough to avoid misrepresenting anything.