Evicting without a written lease???
A friend of mine (seriously, I'm not the "friend", this really is about another person) is in need of some advice as to how to evict a tenant of 5 years with no written lease in place. The tenant has hardly ever paid the full verbally agreed upon rent of $625/mo during the five years he has lived in the home with his girlfriend and her child. The tenant now owes thousands in back payments, and has not paid anything for the past 3 months.
I have only recently become aware of this situation, and my friend has acknowledged the fact that he has created this problem by not using a written lease from the beginning, and by allowing this to go on as long as it has. My friend is now trying to decide what to do with the property - evict and find a new tenant, or sell the house. I told him the first thing that has to happen, regardless of his future plans for the house, is he HAS to get the current tenant out.
My friend has asked the tenant repeatedly to find an alternative housing arrangement, but has always been given a variety of excuses as to why he can't (much like the excuses he uses as to why he can't pay the rent). My friend has even sent some paperwork to the tenant stating that he would pay $2000 for the tenant to move out, or he would evict if the tenant didn't accept. The tenant actually threatened legal action (I don't know the extent of what was threatened) if my friend proceeded with eviction.
So my questions are:
- What options for eviction does my friend have?
- Are there any legal ramifications my friend could face from the tenant since there is no written lease?
- Does anyone have any other suggestions for alternatives to a forceful eviction that my friend could pursue?