Meriden, CT · Member since 2018 · 699 posts · 500 votes
1y
I can't say I can vouch for any of them. They are all basically the same. They send out some letters/phone calls periodically. They are all just waiting for the tenant to raise their hand when they need to use their credit for something big.
Realistically it will be hard. Even if you go to small claims court, you may need to use a collection agency and will likely see none of it. As Samuel said, when the former tenants take note is when it affects their credit when they need to use it.
If the tenants are paying for utilities that are tied to the home (ie you foot the bill if they don't pay), I'd suggest you get copies of the monthly bill sent to you so you can see they are up to date on their payments.
Attorney · UT · Member since 2025 · 33 posts · 59 votes
1y
While you are typically entitled to a judgement for past rent and other fees owed when you go through an eviction or through small claims court, collecting on the judgement is a whole different matter. Really the best you can do is what others have said here and send them to collections. For one reason or another, the tenants don't or won't have the money for you and have made it this far without paying. Having a judgement and sending them to collections does warn other landlords about the issue. That could be a negotiation point as well--we can settle this outside of court and collections so you don't have a public record to make it more difficult to rent in the future.