Evictions in Chattanooga have gone back up to pre-pandemic levels, shooting up 34% between 2021 and 2022.
If you're a rental property owner in Chattanooga, your goal is never to try and evict a tenant. However, it would help if you looked after your investment. When a tenant stands in the way of your ability to do that, you must take action.
In today's post, we'll give you a short guide to help you navigate the eviction process. There's no denying that evictions are the toughest part of being a landlord. Keep reading, and you'll get through your first eviction with relative ease.
Tennessee Eviction Laws
Under Tennesse law, you must have a specific cause to evict one of your tenants unless your rental agreement has expired. The most common reasons for eviction are failure to pay rent, causing damage to the rental, and other lease agreement violations.
Each eviction is served with a particular notice, and you need to send the right one for the eviction process to run smoothly. For failure to pay rent and property damage, you send them a 14-day "cure or quit" notice. This gives them 14 days to rectify the situation or face an official eviction.
For other lease violations, you send a 30-day notice to cure, after which you may terminate the rental agreement. In more severe circumstances, such as the tenant conducting an illegal activity or threatening other tenants, a tenant can be immediately evicted with a 3-day notice to quit.
Sending a Notice
As mentioned, you must follow the correct process with the correct notice, or else the eviction could end up taking longer or failing entirely. Before you get to the point of sending a notice, however, try to reason with your tenant.
For example, countless tenants go through difficult financial times. Try to communicate with your tenant about their late rent payments before jumping straight to eviction. There may be some friendlier arrangement you can reach.
If your tenant doesn't respond to your outreach, then you can send the notice. Once you do, the tenant is on the clock. Should the notice expire without the tenant curing the situation or vacating the property, you can go to court and file an official eviction.
Eviction Court
When you pay the fee and fill out the eviction papers at your local court, both you and the tenant will be given a hearing date. It's important to be prepared for eviction court so that you can follow through and get rid of the tenant. Some landlords will hire an eviction lawyer to help them organize evidence and bolster their chances of success.
When you are successful, the tenant will be given a final date to vacate the property. If they still fail to leave by the date, they can be forcibly removed by the authorities, and you can start screening applicants for the vacancy.
Property Management and Evictions
Evictions are always stressful and mentally draining, but they don't have to be. By hiring a property management company to take care of tenant screening and give you eviction protection, you won't have to worry about delinquent tenants in the first place.
At PMI Scenic City, we're the top property manager in Chattanooga. Contact us today to learn more about our services.
