Best Course of Actions To Remove a Difficult Tenant

[Leeling Chew]

Hi all,

We are facing significant challenges with a tenant in our 'rent-by-room' property. Despite only renting for two months, this tenant's aggressive behavior is creating a hostile living environment for other residents.

• Specific Issues:

  • He complains about our lack of notice when entering the property during our own move, despite prior notification.
  • He has moved items around the house without permission.
  • His communication has been condescending and confrontational.
  • He installed a surveillance camera in a common area, violating the lease agreement.
    He banged on the door because he couldn't use the smartlock code properly.
    

• Considered Actions:

  • We plan to serve him with a notice to vacate.
  • We are considering having a constable with us when we serve him the notice.
    

• Questions:

  • Should we just give him warnings considering that his actions may not improve?
    Should we involve an attorney now, even if eviction isn't immediate?
  • How can we best protect ourselves from potential retaliation and property damage?
  • How can we prove that any damage is caused by this specific tenant, given multiple residents in the property?
    Do you have attorneys you can recommend?
    
    We haven't documented with dates and times all the incidents that happened. We will start to do that now.
    We haven't discussed with him any of these issues for fear of his irrational responses. 
    
    Leeling
    
    
    
    

[Jonathan Greene]

You have some good advice here, but part of what you have to do, in addition to getting him out, is to figure out how you got yourself into this situation. How did you do your due diligence on him before he moved in?