Eviction in Baltimore

[nayboogiee]

Baltimore, Maryland
Hello I currently have a tenant on a month-to month lease (her one year lease expired last year). She had not been paying the rent in full - i am getting dribs and drabs of rent - $100 this week, $50 the following week, etc. She is way behind by almost a year with the full amount she owes. Her lease never allowed pets, yet she is housing a dog. It is also worth mentioning that she recently had a baby so I'm not sure if that complicates matters. In any event, she has breached the lease due to the dog and this sporadic payment of rent has put me over the edge. I would like the evict her. Is the best cause of action to evict her for non-payment of rent in full, or can I do so now since she is on a month-to-month? How would i start the process? I do not care to recover what she owes - I just want her out.
Thank you so much for any advice.
N.Margaret

 

[quincy]

Baltimore, Maryland
Hello I currently have a tenant on a month-to month lease (her one year lease expired last year). She had not been paying the rent in full - i am getting dribs and drabs of rent - $100 this week, $50 the following week, etc. She is way behind by almost a year with the full amount she owes. Her lease never allowed pets, yet she is housing a dog. It is also worth mentioning that she recently had a baby so I'm not sure if that complicates matters. In any event, she has breached the lease due to the dog and this sporadic payment of rent has put me over the edge. I would like the evict her. Is the best cause of action to evict her for non-payment of rent in full, or can I do so now since she is on a month-to-month? How would i start the process? I do not care to recover what she owes - I just want her out.
Thank you so much for any advice.
N.Margaret

If she is a month-to-month tenant in the city of Baltimore, you will need to give her a 60-day notice to quit in order to terminate her lease without eviction. For evictions for breaches of the lease and non-payment, there is information available in the links below. You might need to evict her if she does not vacate the premises after 60 days (see information on “holdover tenants”).

https://www.mdcourts.gov/legalhelp/housing#:~:text=How to evict the tenant,of any stay of execution.

https://www.peoples-law.org/rent-court-eviction

Good luck.

 

[zddoodah]

Hire an attorney to make sure everything is done correctly (something you should have done months and months ago).

 

[quincy]

An attorney is often not necessary, especially if nayboogiee is just giving a 60 day notice and the tenant complies by vacating the premises.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Being a good landlord involves a lot more than a lot of landlords realize when they get their first rental property. Also, contrary to popular myths some believe, real estate rentals are not always good financial investments or good tax savings vehicles. As a result some landlords regret even getting into the rental game and exit once they finally realize other investments can pay just as well and not create the trouble and time you end up spending on managing a rental. I think we have several members who have had some experience with that sort of problem and got out of the landlord game because it was too much aggravation. I've seen some clients and others that I know who do great with rentals, have a natural knack for being landlords, enjoy it and do well financially with their rentals. However, I see more people that didn't know what they were getting into and bailed at the first opportunity. That's especially common with small rental operations.

 

[FarmerJ]

You could consider hiring a law firm to prepare and send to the tenant proper notice that the tenancy is being terminated and the tenant must move out . If this would be the first time terminating a tenancy then it may be best to get legal help so you can learn more from the process. If the tenant refuses to vacate then thats when you would go to the court and file for a eviction based on tenant being given notice to vacate and tenant refuses to vacate and owes you X amount of rent. Do not accept any more money from this tenant, in some jurisdictions when a landlord accepts partial payment they will be turned down by the courts when you file to get them out.

 

[quincy]

Here is a link to Baltimore-specific laws on rentals (see terminating a tenancy):

https://www.peoples-law.org/baltimore-city-rental-and-housing-laws

 

[adjusterjack]

I'm one of those that got burned out and gave up after 20 years of good and bad tenants (1978-1998). Financially it worked out OK. I was able to use the equity in two houses to buy a house for cash in 1998.

If I could go back I would tell myself to put money into Microsoft in 1978 instead of rentals.