One of the biggest issues you might face when you own
rental income property concerns tenants. It is simply not
possible to always fill your rental properties with tenants
that pay their rent on time and act in an orderly fashion.
Sadly, there are times when you will need to evict a
deadbeat tenant.

In this article, we'll first examine a list of unit
conditions that may be considered the tenant's
responsibility and then look at three causes that most
states regard as legal grounds for tenant evictions.

Tenant Responsibility

1) Tenants should keep the unit clean and safe. A tenant
should be expected to have some cleaning capabilities such
as keeping kitchens and bathrooms cleaned, and removing all
garbage they generate to the appropriate receptacles or
designated location for city pickup. The idea is to make
the tenant responsible to maintain clean living conditions
in and around his or her rental property unit both, for
cleanliness sake and to prevent infestations.

2) Tenants must use fixtures and appliances in the unit
properly. Tenants are not permitted to abuse fixtures and
appliances in the rental unit, must exercise reasonable
care not to overload electrical outlets, and should not
flush large objects down a toilet in the unit.

3) Tenants are responsible to fix or pay for damage they
cause. As the controlling factor living in the rental unit,
if the tenant creates a situation that affects the
habitability of the rental unit, he or she can be held
responsible. If a tenant puts a hole in a wall, severely
stains the carpets, or breaks fixtures and appliances, for
instance, he or she must arrange to either fix or pay to
repair the damages.

Naturally, you can include much more regarding tenant
responsibilities in your rental agreements or leases. Bear
in mind, though, that any effort you make to hold a tenant
responsible doesn't mean it will hold up in court. Once you
purchase rental property and become a landlord it's always
best to familiarize yourself with legislation in your area
so you thoroughly understand what responsibilities you can
and cannot shift to tenants.

Legal Causes for Eviction

1) Nonpayment of Rent - Nonpayment, one of the most common
types of eviction procedure, is when a landlord attempts to
evict a tenant for not paying the rent. A lease or rental
agreement will state the due date for rent payment, and
some state laws extend the due date for a tenant to pay the
rent by a certain amount of days referred to as the
prescribed grace period. If the rent is paid in full within
the legal grace period of these states, an eviction for
nonpayment cannot be started; a landlord must wait until
the legal grace period has lapsed to start an eviction. For
instance, if the due date is on the first day of the month
and the legal grace period is 10 days, the rent will not be
due until eleventh day of the month and you cannot start
the eviction until the twelfth of that month. In a
nonpayment eviction, however, be aware that tenants
sometimes try to claim that the rental unit was sub par as
a defense and therefore justifies them not paying the rent.

2) Lapse of Time - Lapse-of-time evictions is when a
landlord evicts the tenant because that tenant's lease or
rental agreement has expired. A lapse-of-time eviction can
be done when a lease is in its final month, and is the type
of eviction procedure commonly used by landlords who give
month-to-month tenancies most commonly use this type of
eviction procedure. A lapse-of-time eviction can be done
without giving any other reason than the owner wants his or
her unit back; the contract is terminated because of its
expiration only. So it doesn't matter what condition the
tenant claims the unit is in because the condition has no
relevance to the expiration of the agreement.

3) Nuisance - Landlords have a right to evict tenants if
the tenant has become a nuisance to the property as long as
the agreement includes a nuisance clause. A nuisance could
be someone who throws loud parties every night or who
continuously disturbs the neighbors, resulting in police
visits to the property. In this case, tenants have a right
to use and occupy a rental unit in any way they want as
long as it does not infringe on the quiet enjoyment of
other tenants in the building or violate federal, state,
and local laws.

Caveat

Bear in mind that when it comes to rental property
ownership most legislation holds the property owner
responsible not the tenant; the property owner is always
the bottom line regarding problems that arise at the
property.

It is highly recommended, therefore, that as a rental
property owner you become familiar with legislation in your
area and understand what responsibilities you can and
cannot shift to tenants because you can't afford to fill
your rental income property with bad tenants. Still, you
don't want to get into trouble with the legal authorities
either.

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James Kobzeff is the developer of ProAPOD - leading rental
property real estate software since 2000. Create cash flow,
rates of return, and other real estate analysis
presentations in minutes! Learn more at =>
http://www.proapod.com

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