Should I evict if tenants says they are leaving anyway?

[switchex]

What is the name of your state? Baltimore, MD

My tenants never paid rent for the month of December, and today (12/16) they send me a letter that they want to leave by the 4th of January due to the fact that the neighborhood is not safe and the fact that they now have a dog and the place is too small. Never mind that they can not have a dog in the first place!!!

Anyway, Per our contract, they owe 2 months rent upon early termination. I am trying to figure out what action to take:

1) Do I need to start the eviction process, even though they are moving out in Jan anyway?

2) Do I let them stay until January and move out on their own and later take them court and sue them for damages (2 months rent and damages to the house exceeding security deposit)?

3) Do I do both? Start the eviction process and try to sue them later.

Thanks.

 

[BL]

What is the name of your state? Baltimore, MD

My tenants never paid rent for the month of December, and today (12/16) they send me a letter that they want to leave by the 4th of January due to the fact that the neighborhood is not safe and the fact that they now have a dog and the place is too small. Never mind that they can not have a dog in the first place!!!

Anyway, Per our contract, they owe 2 months rent upon early termination. I am trying to figure out what action to take:

1) Do I need to start the eviction process, even though they are moving out in Jan anyway?

2) Do I let them stay until January and move out on their own and later take them court and sue them for damages (2 months rent and damages to the house exceeding security deposit)?

3) Do I do both? Start the eviction process and try to sue them later.

Thanks.

Non-payment of rent. Your landlord can begin the eviction process as soon as your rent due date has passed and you have not paid the rent. In most instances, you can stop the eviction any time before the sheriff actually comes to evict you by paying the rent that is owed.

Start eviction while you know there address , and follow the law .

You can always sue later for any other damages .

It sounds like they are saving the rent money to move on .

 

[Alaska landlord]

Don’t trust them to leave in January. This may be a ploy to squeeze out another month of free rent from you. Give them their notice today.

 

[HomeGuru]

Don’t trust them to leave in January. This may be a ploy to squeeze out another month of free rent from you. Give them their notice today.

**A: I agree. Legally terminate their lease so they become holdover tenants if they refuse to vacate.

 

[BoredAtty]

What is the name of your state? Baltimore, MD

My tenants never paid rent for the month of December, and today (12/16) they send me a letter that they want to leave by the 4th of January due to the fact that the neighborhood is not safe and the fact that they now have a dog and the place is too small. Never mind that they can not have a dog in the first place!!!

Anyway, Per our contract, they owe 2 months rent upon early termination. I am trying to figure out what action to take:

1) Do I need to start the eviction process, even though they are moving out in Jan anyway?

2) Do I let them stay until January and move out on their own and later take them court and sue them for damages (2 months rent and damages to the house exceeding security deposit)?

3) Do I do both? Start the eviction process and try to sue them later.

Thanks.

Remember that suing for money is different than suing for possession. Suing for possession does not require personal service, while suing for money does. When making your decision about when to sue for money, take into account how easy/difficult it will be to have the tenants personally served. It may be best to sue for both money and possession now, since you know where they live.

 

[switchex]

ok, so option 4 would be:

Evict them now, and sue them now!

I didn't think I can do that! But i guess I can .. thanks.

 

[BoredAtty]

ok, so option 4 would be:

Evict them now, and sue them now!

I didn't think I can do that! But i guess I can .. thanks.

There is no need to wait...

8-401(c)(2)(iv): The court may also give judgment in favor of the landlord for the amount of rent and late fees determined to be due together with costs of the suit if the court finds that the residential tenant was personally served with a summons.

 

[FarmerJ]

If you suspect that the tenant will be hard to serve then one of the best things to do is have your county sheriffs dept serve the court summons to the tenant . Tenants sometimes claim they are not properly served , going this route yes it cost money but generally courts will not question this method of service.