Being an investor with tenants who are late paying their rent or not paying at all is a huge pain that I plan on helping you with in today’s article.
If you’re a property owner or investor, there are 5 major reasons why you might need to evict a tenant. Some of the most common reasons for eviction include:
- non-payment of rent
- breach of lease
- end of lease term
- illegal activity
- and nuisance or disturbance.
Non-payment of rent is the most frequent reason for eviction, but landlords may also evict tenants who violate the terms of their lease agreement, engage in illegal activity, or cause a disturbance to other tenants or neighbors. If you’re dealing with a difficult tenant, it’s important to follow the proper legal channels to ensure a smooth eviction process.
If you have had to evict someone from a property in the past, an eviction record of that will exist on your tenants profile at the courts. You should inform your tenant that having to evict them can be damaging to their credit and help them understand what they can do to avoid this.
While you might not have to view those eviction records often, they will show up on any background search that a property owner performs on a tenant. Most property owners do conduct these searches and base their decisions for rent on the results. As an investor who should be in the “know” I suggest staying up to date with your research on tenants so you’re aware of their rental history report.
What is a Rental History Report?
To evict a tenant, you as the property owner needs a civil judgement approved by the courts. Since this activity is performed through legal and official channels, a record of it exists inside those courts. The particular eviction records are filed under the rental history of a tenant and form the basis of a rental history report.
How Does a Tenant Find Out About the Eviction for Free?
If you have evicted your tenant through proper legal channels, there has to be a record of it. A credit report or a rental history report is something that your tenant can ask for as it is available publicly. That rental history report can be viewed by any credit reporting company, and that is where your tenant can ask about their eviction history.
You can direct your tenant to simply go to a credit reporting company (a major one like Experian) and file in the paperwork to request their rental history report. The credit reporting company will forward the request and obtain their records from the court. All that is left is for them to go through the tedious and long paperwork to decipher the details.
How Long Do Evictions Exist on Rental History?
For most US states, an eviction stays on record for around 7 years on average. The eviction will stay on the record for that period of time, after which it disappears from the record and will not show up publicly again. While details of it will still exist in the court, they will not be available to credit reporting companies.
How Long Does It Take for the Eviction to Show Up on a Rental History Report?
The time it takes for the eviction to show up on your record depends on the speed of the courts in your particular area. Some courts are more efficient, while others take their time due to the speed of their processing or their workload. However, your tenant can expect a court ordered eviction to show up on their record within 30 to 60 days of the judgement. Once it does, they can view it on their rental history report.
How Can You Remove the Eviction from your Rental History Report?
Having your eviction record removed is not difficult by any means. You simply have to file a petition in the state jurisdiction where your judgement was passed and pay the filing fees. Pay any outstanding balances and make sure to present your story and petition as thoroughly as possible.
If you are an investor dealing with tenants making your life miserable, reach out to us here and we can talk about your situation to see if a fair cash purchase of your investment property would be in your favor.