Property Management Software Can Help Make Eviction Notices Stick

In a perfect world, you would never have to evict a tenant. There's nothing better than having an excellent tenant who signs a long-term lease, treats your property well and pays the rent on time. Unfortunately, due to the nature of people and the changing economy, you will not always have the perfect landlord-tenant relationship. If it's time to say goodbye and send them eviction notices, good data management can make the difference between an easy break and a long, drawn-out eviction battle.

Track Rental Payments With Property Management Software

Landlords with one or two rental properties may be able to remember when rent payments are overdue, but if property management is your business you need to maintain an accurate record of security deposits, rental fees and the dates they arrived at your office. If you find that a tenant is chronically late with the rent and you need to discuss the possibility of eviction, this information will back you up.

“We are already up over 50% utilization for tenant paying rent online” – Jerry Ryan – Resource Property Management

Track Details of Your Landlord-Tenant Relationship

Other details of the landlord-tenant relationship can play an important role in eviction notices. For example, your tenant may pay the rent on time but have very loud parties that cause a lot of complaints. Even worse, a tenant could be involved in illegal activities such as drug dealing and could be the subject of police investigations.

Property damage can be a cause for eviction, as well. You may have a tenant who consistently causes damage to the properties you manage. For this reason, it's important to "make sure you have a full inventory appended to the contract," according to the Investors Chronicle. You need a way to track your assets, complaints, and damage so that you can show the tenant why you are concerned and have grounds for eviction if the problems continue.

Recording Tenant Notices

Depending on the problem you have with the tenant, you may decide to give them a  notice informing them that they need to pay the rent or stop the problematic behavior if they want to stay in the property. In other situations, you may be planning to do a large renovation or other change and need to evict your tenants on 30 to 60 days' notice. In these situations, it's particularly important for you to track the timing of your notices so that you know when the tenant must decide to stay or leave.

Avoid Evictions With Quality Screening

The best way to manage evictions is to avoid them entirely, and screening processes help reduce the number of evictions. Use a tenant screening process that prompts you to check references and get credit reports from your tenants. And managing all of this data requires a management system; accept applications and screen your prospects in real time with property management reports that help you find the right tenant for the right property.

Are you looking for property management software that will help you manage the details of multiple properties in a timely fashion? Propertyware can help. Sign up for a free tour today.