Waiting too long is the most expensive mistake landlords make. Here's when to act.
Most landlords wait too long to begin eviction. They give the tenant another chance, accept a partial payment, believe the promise that the full amount is coming next week. Every day of delay is a day of lost rent that you're unlikely to recover. The tenant who can't pay this month's rent is not going to pay this month's plus next month's. The math only gets worse.
Start the process the day you're legally able to. That doesn't mean you can't communicate with the tenant or attempt to resolve the situation — it means you begin the formal process while those conversations happen. If the tenant catches up before the notice period expires, great. You can withdraw the notice. But if they don't, you haven't lost additional weeks waiting and hoping.
The most common grounds for eviction are non-payment of rent (the tenant failed to pay rent by the due date plus any grace period), lease violations (the tenant violated a specific term of the lease — unauthorized occupants, pets, property damage, noise), holdover tenancy (the lease has expired and the tenant hasn't left), and illegal activity (criminal conduct on the property). Each ground has different notice requirements and procedures. Non-payment is the most straightforward. Lease violations may require a cure period. Know which ground applies to your situation before you serve notice.
Before starting the formal process, ask yourself three questions. First, is the violation documented? You need evidence — payment records showing missed rent, photos of damage, written complaints from other tenants, police reports for illegal activity. Undocumented violations are hard to prove in court. Second, have you communicated with the tenant? A brief conversation or written notice about the violation gives the tenant an opportunity to address it and documents your attempt to resolve things informally. Third, does the violation warrant eviction? A single late payment by two days from a tenant who's been reliable for two years might warrant a conversation. A pattern of late payments, a major lease violation, or non-payment with no communication warrants action.
Once you've decided to proceed, the next step is serving the correct notice. The notice type, content, and delivery method are dictated by your state's law. Get it right the first time — a defective notice means starting over. Check your state's specific notice requirements here.
Before going through the formal eviction process, consider cash-for-keys. You offer the tenant money — typically $500 to $1,500 — to move out voluntarily within a specified timeframe (usually 5-10 days). It sounds counterintuitive to pay someone to leave your property, but the math often works in your favor. A formal eviction costs $3,000-$7,000 in lost rent, legal fees, and turnover. Cash-for-keys costs a fraction of that and gets your property back in days instead of months.
If cash-for-keys fails or isn't appropriate for your situation, proceed to the formal process immediately. Don't let a failed negotiation add more weeks of delay.