How to “softly” remove tenant?! Lol

[Kevin Hunter]

Hello BP community! I’m reaching out to my landlords for some advice. I have a tenant that moved in at the beginning of the year, 1st apartment for her so no previous rental history but credit and steady flow of income was solid. I was willing to give her a chance. I’m sure some know the story from here…out of 6 months she’s been late on 2 of them. I hear from her repeatedly about every little thing that she “thinks” should be better. I respond right away and take care of repairs in a timely fashion. It is a garden unit, not a dungeon by any means but probably could use some updating. She was late last month, I assessed a late fee and she only paid the rent. At this point, it is not worth the hassle, I just want her to go. I did place her on a MTM lease just to see how things played out. I’m glad I did. In cook county so I know I need to give her a 60 day notice. I want to collect my rent these last 2 months without issue but I’m afraid things are going to get messy once I break the news. Any suggestions? This is my 1st go around! I assume I need to deliver a “termination of lease” notice or something before I just call and tell her about it? Thanks for any info!

[Scott Trench]

I think that you can just let her know that the lease will be terminating and that you won't be renewing. Maybe check to see if there are any rules specific to Chicago that you have to follow (like the 60 days notice), but this is real estate 101. 

Just let her know you won't be renewing and begin marketing the property for the next tenant. 

If you have good reason to believe that she will cause problems, you can always resort to "cash for keys". I've used this in the past. 

Something to the effect of, "If you and all of your stuff are gone by next Wednesday, I will give you your entire security deposit back, plus $1,000 in cash. If that doesn't work, then the lease will expire in 60 days, and we will conduct our ordinary move-out process." 

This usually works wonders and I've dodged a few bullets with this approach.