Is it considered retaliatory to do this to a tenant you plan on evicting? (read details)?

Question

I want to nail a sign to her door that says "Intent to Evict" or something along those lines. I own the property. Would there be any legal problems if I were to do this?

The sign would be pretty large and overt.

Thanks

Answer 1

Before you try to do something like that, let me tell you what I have seen:

I had a friend that was a landlord and a real hothead.  He rented to tenants that didn't give a rat's patoot about their credit...it was already trashed to start with.

He posted something similar on their door.

You know what they did?  The trashed the house.  They tore the cabinets off the wall, spray painted the carpet, took a sledge hammer to the toilet, etc.

And then...LEFT THE STATE.

He couldn't even sue them in court b/c he couldn't deliver the lawsuit and has spent 10 years trying to find them...and he can't.

His "retaliation" cost him about $14K in repairs not to mention about 4 months in lost rent.

You can't squeeze blood out of a turnip.

So if you think a tenant not paying rent is the worst thing they can do and it's a free-for-all for the landlord.

Think again.

Answer 2

Why would you do this?

This is not grade school.

I would expect that she fights the eviction based on harassment.

I think she will win too, as this would have no other purpose.

You should not be nailing anything to her door or doing anything stupid like that which would have no possible positive outcome.

Answer 3

Why would you even consider doing that?? Its just rude and completely uncalled for!!

If you want to evict someone - go about the proper procedure - don't threaten them!

And like others said - you would just be begging for retaliation from them.

To post that would just be stupid.

Answer 4

Yeah it does sound angry.  If she doesn't know she's getting evicted yet, this is not the way to tell her.  It should be between the landlord and tenant.  I think the sign would create a bad impression on you if other tenants walked by her door and read it.  It would say...he did this to this tenant, and he'll probably do it to me...

Answer 5

When you lease a property, you enter into a business transaction with another party.  It is important that both parties remember that at all times.  

If something goes wrong, the contract (the lease in this case) should always be consulted and followed to the letter.  

In the absence of a contract (or lease) , or if the contract or lease is not specific enough for the incident in question, there are always state laws to guide you.  

There are very specific tenant/landlord laws in every state so that both parties are protected.  Having a bad tenant is extremely frustrating, but it's important that you go by the book on this.  Take your personal feelings, set them aside, and treat this as a contract dispute and you will have the legal system backing you.  The minute that your frustration and anger get involved (and you start tacking things to her door) it will get uglier than it needs to.  

Good luck.

Answer 6

And he deserved it too.

I'm a LL and if you can't approach this as a business(not personal), then you have no business being a LL.  Watch the movie Pacific Heights.  It's a good example of what not to do.

If you do things calmly and by the book, you'll come out much better.

I know you need to vent sometimes, b/c of what these idiots do, but don't ruin your life over it.

Answer 7

It would probably be considered harrasment.