Are they constantly throwing parties and damaging your unit? Do they elicit constant noise complaints? Are they regularly late with rent? Have they not paid their rent in months? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve likely already contemplated taking the steps to evict your tenants. How do you go about it? If we’re being perfectly honest, it can be a super annoying process. What steps are necessary to evict a delinquent tenant?
1. Fill Out A Form N4
For Ontario-based landlords, a Form N4 must be completed. This is also known as the “Notice to End a Tenancy Early for Non-payment of Rent”. The form requests of you to provide information pertaining to the issues you’re having with your tenant. It also informs that your tenant has until midnight on the day his/her rent is due to pay the rent and that you must wait until after that day to give the tenant notice of his/her eviction.
It’s also vital you carefully check your math. The form will eventually be submitted to your tenant and it is imperative that the exact amount of the past due rent is listed in the tables provided. Of important note: “If your tenant pays rent by the month or year, you must give at least 14 days notice. If your tenant pays rent by the day or week, you must give at least 7 days notice.”
2. Fill Out A Form L1 If The Tenant Does Not Make A Payment Within 14 Days
If you’ve provided your tenant with your completed N4 notice and he/she still doesn’t pay the rent within 14 days, you’ll need to complete a Form L1 – Checklist. It is also known as the “Application to Evict a Tenant for Non-payment of Rent and to Collect Rent the Tenant Owes”. There is no less than seven-part of this application. Completing them requires you to provide information about the address of the rental unit and the total amount owed by the tenant.
As well, you are asked to provide information about the tenant’s rent amount, the rent deposit and whether or not the tenant is still in possession of the rental unit. You’ll also need to show how you’ve calculated the amount owed you.
3. Hire A Lawyer And Go To A Hearing At The Landlord And Tenant Board
If you believe this sounds expensive and time-consuming, you’d be right. Not to mention, hearings can often take months to schedule. The process is generally a long and drawn-out one that also tends to be very tenant-favouring.
4. Book The Sheriff To Evict The Tenant
This step is only necessary if you’re successful at your Landlord and Tenant board meeting. It will also cost you $500 to book the sheriff. Keep in mind that, on average, it takes approximately 89 days to successfully evict a tenant in Ontario. Unfortunately, most bad tenants are known for their tendencies to keep their homes in disarray. If this is the issue you’ve encountered, you’ll likely have to fork out thousands of dollars for repairs and renovations.
How Can You Avoid These Headaches As A Landlord?
SingleKey proudly offers Rent Guarantee. This program has helped many an Ontario landlord to evade unnecessary headaches and time-wasting stress. By taking advantage of Rent Guarantee, you put the burden on SingleKey to manage the time-consuming, tenant-evicting hassle for you. So, how does it work?
Firstly, we invite tenants to apply online for your rental property. After receiving their pertinent information, we screen them for you. As part of the process, we pull credit reports, call references and verify employment and income information. We also collect your rent for you! Rent is collected via pre-authorized debit and is deposited directly into your account. This has been proven to be much faster than either cheques or Interac e-transfers, guaranteeing you an end to late payments.
We don’t use the word “guarantee” lightly, by the way. We ensure that your rent is paid for up to 12 months or $60,000 – even in the event that your tenant misses his/her payment. In fact, we guarantee payment of your rent up until the tenant is removed from your property. We even protect that property of yours. We cover up to $10,000 in property damage due to tenant vandalism. Finally – and this may be the best part – we handle evictions for you!
For more information about SingleKey’s Rent Guarantee, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 416-518-3489 or email us at contact@single-key.com.
