How the Right Eviction Attorney Can Help Protect your Rental Income

Evicting a tenant can be a stressful, complicated, and time-consuming activity for landlords. An eviction attorney could help you navigate the eviction process more smoothly and quickly. That way, you can protect your rental income stream by finding a new tenant faster.

An eviction attorney is a lawyer who specializes in the process of eviction, the act or process of officially forcing someone to leave a house or a piece of land.

He or she has expertise in the Landlord and Tenant Law governing your state.

An eviction attorney assists landlords through the steps of the eviction process. This can include serving notices such as:

When should you hire a lawyer to help you evict a bad tenant? It depends on your location, situation, and comfort level with removing a tenant from your property. Evictions must follow very detailed and often complex rules, subjecting the landlord to significant legal risks if not handled correctly. These rules vary from situation to situation, and also from state to state. For example, the laws of some states don't require landlords to give tenants time to comply with a breach of a rental term, such as paying overdue rent or removing a pet. And in those states that do allow this with a Pay Rent or Quit Notice, the time allowed can range from 3 to 5 days.

Some landlords choose to hire an eviction attorney right at the beginning of the eviction process to serve each notice required by the state. Others might decide they need professional help based on the tenant's response after receiving a Pay Rent or Quit Notice, or a Cure or Quit Notice.

Although it's unpleasant, many landlords take on the responsibility for evicting tenants on their own, and they're successful. This is known as a self-help eviction. It requires the landlord to actually "enter the premises," or go to the rental property, and remove the tenant, using "reasonable force." If you're comfortable researching and completing the eviction process and requirements on your own, you might not need to hire an eviction attorney. As you can probably guess, this is not an easy task and is best left to experts such as professional property managers and eviction attorneys.

On the other hand, getting a lawyer to start an eviction lawsuit could be a good idea to save time and help ensure things go smoothly. Take note: When you sue to evict a tenant, you must prepare to let a law enforcement officer actually remove the tenant and their belongings from your property.

Some situations where hiring a lawyer to help remove tenants might include:

Even though eviction legal issues can usually be completed faster than many other types of lawsuit, judges look over each and every form and document very carefully. This is because eviction involves removing individuals or families from their home. So, eviction documentation that is incomplete or contains errors can delay eviction proceedings.

And delayed proceedings mean additional weeks or even months when you can't collect rent. However, during this time, as a landlord you're still responsible to meet the regular utility bills, tax bills, and mortgage payments for the rental property.

Hiring an eviction attorney can help protect your income with a faster eviction process and resolution. When you have expert assistance, it can shorten the time period during which you're not collecting rent. It could allow you to remove the non-paying tenant more quickly, so you can proceed with making repairs, cleaning, and finding a new tenant. 

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