Why should I evict a non-paying tenant as soon as possible?

We are often asked why a landlord should move quickly to evict a non-paying tenant and the answer is actually multifaceted.

Loss of Rental Income

The most obvious answer to the question is that you are losing money every day that the non-paying tenant is in the property and we often refer to this as a loss of opportunity because for so long as the tenant is in the property, you cannot lease the property to a paying tenant and hence your losses will increase as time goes by.

Increased Overheads

Another reason is that you would usually be liable for the costs of owning the property while the non-paying tenant is in occupation of the property. These costs accumulate quite quickly, and hence some landlords have to pay substantial amounts once the non-paying tenant has been evicted from the property.

Risk of Damage to Property

There is the risk that the non-paying tenant may cause damage to the property, as the non-paying tenant has already shown disregard for the obligations of the non-paying tenant in regards to paying of rent and hence it is hardly a stretch to conclude that a non-paying tenant will not properly maintain the property. This is compounded in situations where there is an existing dispute between the landlord and the non-paying tenant because the non-paying tenant may feel aggrieved and hence have little reason not to damage the property.

Rental Boycots

Some non-paying tenants will let the paying tenant know that the non-paying tenant is not paying rent and this may encourage other currently paying tenants to also cease paying rent. This is especially true when the non-paying tenant is aggrieved or feels slighted by the landlord.

Inability to Maintain the Property

Where a non-paying tenant is in unlawful occupation, the non-paying tenant might refuse to allow the property to be maintained. This leads to increased renovation costs when the non-paying tenant is finally evicted. In some cases, the non-paying tenant would refuse to allow maintenance to take place in order to claim in court that there has been no maintenance in order to try and sway the court when hearing the eviction application.

Eviction Time Periods

Most evictions require certain time periods to pass before a subsequent step can take place and hence starting with the eviction process sooner will result in these time periods running – even if it later becomes unnecessary to proceed with the entire eviction process.

The above should not be accepted as legal advice, and you are advised to seek legal advice.