Non paying Tenant does not want to move out a house

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Non paying Tenant does not want to move out a house

Jaimin Patel
Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote

Hello, I'm working on a single family deal in san francisco, where it is difficult to evict tenants that don't pay. The tenant has been living there for quite some time, but he has not been paying for a while. the seller wants to get rid of the house. My question is, how do I get evict or convince the tenant to vacate the house? Do I pay him? if I pay him to move out and have him sign a statement that he is being paid to vacate the house, would that be a valid option? What are my other options to evict or convince the tenant to move out?

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Lynnette E.
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y

Remember with cash for keys they give you the keys before you give them the cash!  Never give them the money until after they are out.  You should move into the house, so ask for it to be vacant at the close of escrow so you or your family member can live there.

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  • Scott M.
    Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Yes, what you described is a valid option often referred to as cash for keys.  Give them cash to leave, have them sign an agreement they got cash in order to leave and that anything left in the home they no longer want.  

    Other than asking, paying or evicting I am not sure there are other legal options.  

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  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    5y

    I think paying him to leave, OKA 'cash for keys', is the only way you can get him out in a place like San Francisco. It's a sick and sad sign of the times, but that's what you get....

    1Reply
  • Henry ClarkPro Member
    Developer · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    @Jaimin Patel

    A.  Is your profit potential large enough and do you have a contract subject to the house being vacated.  If not walk away

    B.  How tough and hard headed are you.  Can you switch your mind from this being a business deal to this person is taking food out of your child’s mouth?  If this isn’t you walk away. 

    If you don’t have A and B covered, forget this deal.  Don’t be a Good Samaritan

    Legal way:

    Just google.   There are two paths to an eviction in San Francisco.

     A.  Curable remedy.  You could dump a ton of trash out and push it against the tenant to correct.  This can be remedied so I would not go down this type of route.

    B.  Noncurable.   The owner or one of their relatives decides to move back into the house.  I would go down this route. Still red tape but a definitive end game 

    Pavlov law approach:

    Food, shelter, water, safety, comfort and I will throw in livelihood.

    Get your contract out and read it thoroughly.  Learn about the person.   Take away all of these within the law.  If you can’t develop approaches for the above, walk away from the deal.  I can take away all of these within the law, you need to be imaginative and mean. If your not in the mindset they are taking food from your child walk away.  They are in that mindset, your not.    This isn’t a business deal.  Don’t pay them.  

    In the future stay away from any deal you can’t tackle. Example if you can’t handle asbestos or underground gas tanks, analyzing and remedies, stay away. 

    Remember your vote counts.  

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  • Brian Garlington
    Realtor · Oakland, CA and a Real Estate Investor with Multi-Family Units and a Self Storage Facility · Member since 2016 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    I would walk away from the deal, now.

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  • Lynnette E.
    Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    5y

    Remember with cash for keys they give you the keys before you give them the cash!  Never give them the money until after they are out.  You should move into the house, so ask for it to be vacant at the close of escrow so you or your family member can live there.

    1Reply
  • Ed Zhao
    Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    @Jaimin Patel he is not paying, why that's not a valid reason to evict?

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  • Bruce WoodruffPro Member
    Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Ed Zhao:

    @Jaimin Patel he is not paying, why that's not a valid reason to evict?

     It's in San Francisco....you can't evict for non-payment of rent...

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  • Ed Zhao
    Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 8 votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @Bruce Woodruff:
    Originally posted by @Ed Zhao:

    @Jaimin Patel he is not paying, why that's not a valid reason to evict?

     It's in San Francisco....you can't evict for non-payment of rent...

    In addition, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed Ord. No. 216-20, which was later extended, that prohibits the eviction of residential tenants before September 30, 2021, unless the eviction is based on the non-payment of rent (in which case the statewide eviction protections described below apply), the Ellis Act, or is necessary due to violence-related issues or health and safety issues.The State of California Enacts Statewide Eviction Protections for Non-Payment of Rent.On August 31, 2020, after the local COVID-19 eviction protections went into effect, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB-3088, also known as the “COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act of 2020”. AB-3088 is a statewide law, which provides in part that residential tenants who are unable to pay rent due to COVID-19 cannot be evicted (now, or in the future) for unpaid rent that became due between March 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, if certain requirements are met. On January 29, 2021, these tenant protections were extended through June 30, 2021. On June 28, 2021, the Governor signed AB-832, which extends these tenant protections once again, through September 30, 2021. AB-832 requires the tenant to provide the landlord a signed declaration in response to a 15-day notice to pay rent, AND to pay at least 25% of the rent owed for the period between September 2020 and September 2021 by no later than September 30, 2021. The 25% rent amount can be paid in monthly increments, or in one lump-sum. Although AB-832 protects tenants from eviction if they comply with the requirements, the unpaid rent is not forgiven or cancelled, and the landlord may take the tenant to small claims court starting on November 1, 2021 for any rent that is still unpaid.

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  • Jaimin Patel
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 4 posts · 1 vote
    5y

    thank you all for your feedback

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    5y

    You shouldn't buy the property. You may be able to pay this individual to leave - which is normal in your state - but what's to stop the next tenant from doing the same thing? And the next? There's a reason this Landlord is selling. There's a reason so many investors are selling off their properties after decades of investing. There was a story a few weeks ago that a Landlord paid around $500,000 to get a tenant out. This not only rewards the bad behavior of the non-paying tenant, it encourages more tenants to do the same. Soon it will be impossible to get rid of renters in California.

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