Tenant eviction is the most unwanted experience of property management. The process is unwanted for both parties, the landlord, and the tenant. However, certain unfortunate events often lead to such unpleasant proceedings, no matter how hard participants may try to avoid them.
This process is not only unpleasant in landlord-tenant relationships, but it’s also quite costly for the property owner. The number of tenant eviction costs may vary depending on the circumstances such as your situation and location. Tenant eviction costs differ from hundreds of dollars to thousands, depending on the property location and the length of the process.
Although landlords may try to avoid the eviction process due to the massive financial loss associated with it, sometimes owners are legally bound to remove the tenants who cause issues such as constant late rent payments, negligence, and damage to the property.
Estimating the general cost of tenant evictions with exact accuracy is impossible, but you can still calculate the correct expenses of the process by applying each factor to your specific situation.
Legal Tenant Eviction Reasons
Evicting a tenant simply because the property owner wants to is never a possibility. The landlord must know their rights and limitations when it comes to removing tenants from the property. However, there are certain circumstances commonly experienced by property owners that cause legal evictions.
Such situations include:
- Continuous non-payment of rent
- Lease violations by the tenant
- Selling the property
- Renovation of the property
- The tenant damaged the property
Although property managers and owners frequently face these issues, they mostly try to avoid tenant eviction as much as possible, as it is an exhausting and expensive process that brings grievance to the landlord. In cases where the eviction process is unavoidable, it’s crucial to follow through with the proceedings according to local laws.
What is the Cost of an Eviction?
To calculate the exact cost of an eviction depending on your specific situation, you must take multiple factors into account. Make sure to include every financial loss in your calculations, including cleaning fees, missed rent payments, legal fees, property management fees, maintenance fees, repair costs, and court expenses.
Missed Rent
If you are evicting a tenant due to missed rent payments, you must start calculating the costs of tenant eviction by tracking the missed transfers. Moreover, in certain occurrences eviction proceedings can take up to three months to complete, adding additional missed payments to the accounting process. The average rent price in the United States of America is $1,713, the rent prices differ according to the property size and location. However, generally estimating the eviction process, the missed rent payments cost landlords in the US $1,713 or more.
Legal Fees
As a landlord, you must consider multiple legal fees to calculate the cost of eviction as a whole. Sheriff’s office serving notice fees vary depending on the state. Hiring a lawyer may cost around $300-500, depending on the professional, location, and the complexity of the process. Court costs can range anywhere from $50 to $400 depending on your state.
Cleaning and Repair Fees
If you are evicting a tenant due to negligence leading to a damaged property, you may have to conduct cleaning and repair procedures. These service costs vary depending on your location and the severity of the property damage.
Marketing Fees
After evicting the tenant from your property, you will have to find a new resident to move in, so you continue to earn a profit from your rental. Therefore, you must start marketing on real estate platforms to generate new leads. Depending on your choice of marketing platforms, the costs will vary. Often, marketing a property on social media sites is free, but landlords still pay additional fees for the best results.
Vacancy Periods
As previously mentioned, the average rent price in the US is $1,713. In the window between evicting a tenant and finding a new one, your property remains vacant, and, therefore, you must calculate the missed rent payments during this period to add to your eviction costs.
Calculating the True Cost of Tenant Eviction
You can calculate the exact cost of evicting a tenant on your property by filling in the gaps according to your specific situation.
Eviction Factor | Your Expense |
Missed rent | |
Repairs | |
Cleaning fees | |
Legal fees | |
Marketing costs | |
Vacancy time & missed rent before the new tenant |
The above chart will help you calculate the exact cost of tenant eviction in your current situation.
Tenant eviction is never a pleasant experience neither for the property owner nor for the tenant. However, as a landlord, you must know your rights and responsibilities and act accordingly. Although the eviction process is quite costly, letting a negligent tenant stay on your property for long will be more expensive than removing them from your property at once.