Dodged the bullet on evicting...

[Robert D.]

Hello all!

So I dodged the bullet on having to evict a 12 year tenant out of my California LLC titled rental. I take full fault for letting this tenant pay late for the majority of his entire tenancy. He always paid with late fee and usually by the 15th to around the 20th at the latest. I felt for them as they were a struggling family in this crazy expensive life and I got comfortable in that, seeing as how he hardly ever complained about much. Hindsight my generosity could have set me back in the neighborhood of $10k in total unpaid rents and attorney fees plus my own time.

As I mentioned above its entirely my fault, I should never have allowed this and should have been more strict. I wish to now redirect this tenant into paying on time as stated by the original contract from 12 years ago, which is now month to month.

So I call on the experts on how to best handle the situation. My immediate thought is to send out a letter to that tenant stating how the payment dates will be adhered to and will lead to immediate eviction action.

Backstory: In the end, November rent wasn't paid by the 30th. He ignored all my attempts at communication, via phone calls and texts prior to sending the 3 day pay or quit notice. On day 2 of the notice he texts saying he sent the payment, today being that day.

Me not being the most PC person, don't want to say the wrong things, reason being the world we live in is so sensitive to everything but to top it off I live in California, land of the sue happy, enough said.

How would be a good way to handle this, while keeping it California legal?

[Janice Carter]

Unfortunately, long-term leniency often becomes the “new normal” for tenants and resetting expectations after 12 years can definitely be challenging, especially in California with its strict tenant protection laws.

At this point, the safest and most effective approach is to send a formal written notice outlining the rent due date, late fees and the requirement to pay on time going forward. Keep it factual, neutral and policy-based, not personal. Consistency is key from here on out and every late payment should trigger the same documented process so there’s no claim of selective enforcement.

Given California’s legal environment, you may want to have an attorney review your notice or even draft it for you so the language is compliant. That way, you are resetting expectations without exposing yourself to unnecessary legal risk. Also, as Nicholas suggested, you may want to hire a property manager.