Spirepoint Properties

Saving Money When Evicting A Tenant

Owning rental property can be very expensive. Not only due to the regular maintenance involved, but also due to damage caused by tenants, costs involved with evicting a tenant, and the costs for making an apartment 'rent ready'.  One bad tenant can put a serious dent in your cash flow.

So how do we reduce these costs?  After owning rental property for 4 years, we've learned a few tricks we thought we'd pass on to you.

File your Tribunal notices on time

Tenants are like children... you have to set the rules up front or they will walk all over you. Even with rules in place, tenants will constantly test you to see if they can get away with breaking the rules.

One of the best things to do is to enforce timely payment of rent. If the tenant doesn't pay by the third day of the month, give them an N4 notice for non-payment of rent (in Ontario).  

You must do this consistently!  Not only will it set the expectation that you "don't play games", but it's also very important if you ever take the tenant to Tribunal.  I have personally seen a judge rule in favour of a tenant who didn't show up for the hearing and who consistently paid late for 15 months because the landlord didn't give them an N4 each and every time they paid late!  The judge said the tenant "didn't know" they were supposed to pay consistently on the 1st of the month.

Pay them to leave

If the tenant isn't paying rent, consistently paying rent late in the month, or damaging your property, consider paying them money to break the lease and leave as soon as possible.  Why on earth would you do something like that?

Anyone who has ever evicted a tenant using a provincial tribunal can tell you... it's a very expensive process.  Costs can include:

  • Application fees with the tribunal
  • Delays while the tribunal gives you a court date (every day you aren't paid is costing you money)
  • Time required to fill out the forms and attend the hearing (if you value your time at all)
  • Costs for legal representation (if you don't represent yourself)
  • Delays while the judge makes their decision (more lost rent). Remember - they don't have to do it while you are present. For one eviction we did, the judge took 3 weeks to make a decision, even though the tenant didn't show, we had photographic proof of the damage they did, and the city health department had shut down the unit and testified at the hearing!
  • Extra damage done while waiting for the tribunal or eviction date. Some tenants will try to "get back at you" for evicting them.
  • Cleaning, painting, and other "rent ready" costs

All these costs can quickly add up to many thousands of dollars. Don't you think it's worth it to pay the tenant a few hundred dollars to leave as soon as possible, and leave the unit in a reasonably clean and undamaged condition?

Hire a legal consultant

If the tenant won't leave even if you pay them, then you'll have to take them to the tribunal. Do yourself a favour and don't try to do it yourself... hire legal representation.

Although the tribunal laws may seem clear and straightforward, it's quite easy to fill a form in incorrectly, misinterpret the legal wording, or encounter a judge who's having a bad day.  A personal who is familiar with the eviction process and the rules is in a much better position to get your bad tenant out quickly and cheaply.

Some law firms offer legal representation at the various provincial rental tribunals. These firms can easily charged many hundreds to thousands of dollars for complicated eviction cases.

A cheaper alternative is to look for "legal consultants" in the yellow pages or through word of mouth. We use a guy who is in the tribunal court rooms every day, knows the judges on a first name basis, and has personally evicted hundreds of tenants. He charges a very reasonable fee, usually a few hundred dollars. It's definitely worth every penny!

Following the above tips will save you an enormous amount of time, money, and energy (not to mention headaches). Good luck with your eviction!


This article is copyright © 2004-2010 Spirepoint Properties. All rights reserved.

Paul Blacquiere and Joanne Beehler are full time real estate investors and have been investing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada since 2002.  They are owners of Spirepoint Properties, a Canadian real estate investing company dedicated to making real estate investing easy.

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