Property Owners Rights When Your Tenant Breaks the Law

If you fear that your tenants are engaged in criminal activity, it is reasonable to want them off your property. State and local laws, as well as your lease agreement, may give you permission to start eviction proceedings.

Grounds for Eviction

Each state, and some cities and towns, establishes the grounds for which a landlord can have a tenant evicted. In many places, criminal activity is one of them. In fact, Idaho, Arizona and Indiana are among the states with special laws in place that address, and sometimes expedite, the eviction of those involved in the drug trade.

Exceptions

Although it may be possible for a landlord to evict a tenant or her family because of a crime committed in their home, the law may provide protection for innocent family members in some situations. For example, in Colorado and Minnesota, it is illegal for a landlord to evict a victim of domestic violence, though the landlord may be able to evict the perpetrator.

Warning

Just because you have grounds for an eviction does not give you the right to put the tenant out of their home by yourself. You need to follow the legal process for eviction in your state, get an eviction order from a judge and wait for the sheriff to physically remove your tenant.

References

• Pima County Attorney: To All Landlords. . .
• Indy.gov: Narcotics Eviction/ Nuisance Abatement Program
• Chicago Tribune: Tenant Reported Abuse -- Then Suffered Eviction; Sara Olkon; 2009
• Nolo: How Evictions Work: Rules for Landlords and Property Managers
• Palmer George PLLC.: Evicting Tenants/Renters in Kootenai County