People fall into the role of landlord through a variety of ways. Sometimes, folks inherit a piece of property or have a house that cannot be sold for some reason and are stuck renting it out. The story sometimes ends well, but sometimes, there are problems dealing with tenants. When an eviction happens, one of the most frequent questions I get has to do with collecting money owed under the lease.
How far should you let a renter get behind?
When it comes to an eviction, Louisiana requires a two-part process. Step One is taking out the tenant. Step Two is a separate legal action involving collecting the rent. Each step requires filing a different lawsuit and usually going before a different judge. This also increases the cost of managing the property. Not only do you incur legal fees and perhaps attorney’s fees for the eviction if you actually want to collect against the tenant, but you are also out a filing fee–usually a minimum of about $200.
Unfortunately, this is not the end of the story. Getting a judgment rarely motivates payment. The next step (a costly one) is filing for a garnishment and attempting to seize wages or money in a bank account. Unless your tenant has a family inheritance or a great job, it is rarely worth going through the collection process. As the landlord, know that whatever rent is owed at the time of the eviction is rarely paid. A side note: Filing for garnishment will usually cost at least $500 with no guarantee any money will be collected.
If you are the tenant, the easiest way to defeat a garnishment in the short term is to quit your job. That’s because garnishments are usually directed at employers. If the tenant changes jobs, it does not follow to the next employment. It is possible to garnish bank accounts, but that is a one-time action and only seizes money in the account at that moment.
When handling rental property, one of the most important things to know is to avoid letting a tenant get behind on rental payments. In my experience as a landlord, if the tenant ever gets more than one month behind, they will never be able to catch up. You might as well start immediate eviction procedures.
The final insult to injury is that not all tenants move out when the eviction judgment is granted. The judgment just gives the landlord the right to evict. It does not actually make the eviction happen. This can mean additional fees to arrange for the Sheriff or Constable to come out and supervise the actual eviction process.
–Written by Greg Gouner
