Regardless of whether you rent single family homes or manage a large apartment complex, the process is the same when a tenant fails to pay rent on time. You must serve the tenant with a "7-day notice". At the end of the 7 days, if the tenant still has not paid rent, then you can file a summons and complaint with the District Court and attempt to obtain a judgment for "possession only" or a combination of a possession judgment and a money judgment. Many landlords take the wise step of incorporating to protect their personal assets. However, once you are operating as a corporation or Limited Liability Company, you can no longer represent the company in court unless you are a lawyer. You can still issue the 7-day notice that rent is delinquent, but you cannot appear in court to represent the company.
Termination of tenancy
If a landlord wants to evict a tenant for lease violations or siply becuase the lease term has ended, a "30-day notice" is typically used. If the tenant does not move at the expiration of the 30-day period, the landlord can then file a lawsuit for termination of tenancy. The complaint form is different for a termination of tenancy case than a non-payment of rent case. In a termination of tenancy case, there is no amount of money that the tenant could pay in order to stay in the property. For more information regarding the legal processes of rental properties, click
HERE.
For frequently used Landlord-Tenant Court Forms, click
HERE.