What to do if one of my tenants has stopped paying rent?
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What to do if one of my tenants has stopped paying rent?
I rent my home to 4 unrelated tenants and 1 of them has stopped paying their share of the rent; no one has heard from her for over a week. Do I have any legal recourse as far as removing her from the lease?
Asked on May 5, 2012 under Real Estate Law, Maryland
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Sure you do. You can evict her. But what are you going to do about the rent? I would take the lease to some one to read for you. I bet the tenants are all "jointly and severally liabe" under the lease, meaning that they all can be held liable for her share and you are entitled to collect from each and every one of them. Do you want to formally evict her and then offer a new lease to the remaining 3? That is fine too. But you need to make sure that things are properly done with notice, etc., and that no one touches her stuff until you have a warrant of eviction and the sheriff comes. Good luck.
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