How early should I file for eviction

Question

Thomas S. · Answer

The process is determined by your state landlord tenant regulations and is specific to each state.

Rent is late if not received by midnight of the day your lease states rent is due. This is usually the 1st of the month. The next morning you could contact your tenant and inquire as to why rent was not received or you could simply issue a pay or quit notice. Once your pay or quit notice is issued it starts the clock for the eviction process. You want to issue the notice as soon as possible when full rent payment is not received on the due date regardless of when your tenant has told you he will pay. Remember you can always withdraw any notice, pay or quit or eviction, right up to the date of a hearing.

When you begin the official notice starting with the pay or quit notice is dependant on your knowledge of your tenant. I know every tenant I have and know exactly when to begin the process. The newer the tenant the quicker you should issue a pay or quit.  A tenant with less that 6 months into their lease should not even be called, issue the pay or quit the next day. It's part of proper tenant training.

Jill F. · Answer

This is going to depend on your lease, state laws and your policy regarding late rent. I use a 3-day notice (to leave the premises) as a CYA tactic. If a tenant has not contacted me in advance and set up a payment plan or the payment plan set up will have them more than three days behind on the daily rent amount after the 7th day of the month, then I 3-day notice on the 4th day of the month-- In Ohio, a 3-day notice is not valid if the tenant is not in default and it becomes invalid if you accept any FUTURE rent after the 3-day notice is served.

JD Martin · Answer

Refer back to your state laws. I'm sure Pennsylvania has some statute that governs when you can file these notices.

Gregory H. · Answer

Need more backstory on the tenant and the quality of the property. For example, most people above are telling you to evict ASAP. That may be the move if you have a Class C or D property, where the likelihood of them paying is minimal. I operate mostly in Class A real estate. Just about all the tenants have $80K+ salaried jobs. I'm flexible with them, always get my money, and its probably been 5+ years since an eviction was necessary. Strict rules are all well and good, but the best case scenario is to get all your money and have the tenant stay if they're good but have a temporary cashflow problem.

Michael Jones · Answer

Yesterday.

James Wise · Answer

Based on this question it's clear this will be your 1st go around with an eviction so whatever you do, do not go at an eviction without an attorney. There are some things in this business you can tackle on your own and learn from your mistakes as you go. Court & evictions are not one of them. At no point will it ever be in your best interest to go into a courtroom without an attorney. I've evicted hundreds of people & would never consider doing one without an attorney, simply doesn't pay.

Now with all of that behind us what i've found works the best is to serve them notice around the 10th day of missed rent. Going to late makes no sense as they'll never catch up. Going to early you may end up doing an artificially high amount of costly evictions. From there we immediately file with the courts as soon as we are able to by law after our notice was posted. The way the 3 day notice works in Ohio (I assume it's similar in PA) weekends, holidays & the day you post the notice does not count towards the 3 days so it won't always be exactly 3 days from posting till filing.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

My state requires a 3-day grace period. If rent is due on the 1st, I have to wait three more days and then I can start the eviction process.

Marc Winter · Answer

In PA l/t law, IF the lease calls for NO notice needed before filing, you may file on the 2nd of the month (assuming the rent is due on the 1st).  HOWEVER, my experience has been that many MDJ's will enforce 'their own interpretations of the law' and have required some notice (as per lease--we give 3-days) and many want to see 10-days.  Check with your Magisterial District Justice's office in this regard.

(I understand, state landlord/tenant law is 'the law'.  However, in real life, the MDJ is the LAW, and if you don't follow what they say, you may be technically right, but THEY are the winner, because you will have to pay for an appeal, plus the lost time/rent, attorney fees, etc).

After your notice, file asap.  Let the tenant know the clock is ticking, and if they want to stop the clock, they must pay rent in full plus any court costs/expenses you may have legitimately incurred.

We always file on or before the 15th of the month, and frankly, we do not accept 'payment plans' because we already have one in place:  we call it a lease.

If the tenant has notified us in advance, and has never had a problem before, AND they can pay all in full by the 15th, we will work with them.  That does not mean we do not file for eviction; it means we will expect payment in full by the said time, or we go to court to get the hearing.

Advice:  START THAT CLOCK TICKING!

Alex Deacon · Answer

@Alexander Churchill as soon as legally possible. Find out from your local experts. You have to lay down the rules with your tenants and run your portfolio like a business. You are happy to work out a payment plan with a tenant but dont wait to file for eviction in case they dont stick to it.

How early should I file for eviction

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