Typically, you’ll evict a tenant for not paying rent or violating some part of the lease agreement and refusing to rectify the issue.
When you have a tenant who isn’t paying rent, eviction may be your only option. However, we strongly encourage you to look for alternatives so you can save yourself the time, money, and hassle of an eviction. While South Carolina does have landlord-friendly evictions, you still have to follow the legal process to the letter. If you don’t, you may lose your case or have to start over, which will only prolong the time it takes to remove your nonpaying tenant.
There’s also the matter of the COVID pandemic. A federal moratorium on evictions for tenants who are struggling financially due to the pandemic is still in place. It’s very difficult to remove a tenant from your property who can demonstrate they have been impacted financially by COVID.
We’ve got some helpful points for you today that cover what you should do now if a tenant cannot pay rent, and what you should do under normal circumstances when there is no moratorium preventing you from removing a non-paying tenant.
Goose Creek Evictions: Timeframes and Costs
Generally, the eviction process takes between 45 and 60 days. We understand that this seems like quite a long time, especially when you’re not collecting rent on your property. If you don’t start the eviction process until a month or two has gone by that the tenant hasn’t paid, you could be facing a large financial loss.
In general, we’ve found that owners can expect to pay $500 – $2,000 for an eviction in South Carolina, depending on your timing and the court costs you’ll face. The way your tenant responds will also influence how long it takes and how much it costs.
Your first step during an eviction will be to serve your tenants a notice to pay rent or leave the property. If you don’t receive the amount that’s overdue, you’ll have to go to court, where a hearing will be scheduled and ultimately if you win your case, you’ll receive a Writ of Possession, thereby removing the tenant from your property.
If you’re not already working with a professional property management company, this would be a great time for you to get some advice. Property managers understand the court process, the paperwork that must be filed, and the expectations of the judge and the courts. We also understand how to prevent evictions.
Goose Creek Evictions during COVID
With evictions more difficult to come by these days, you’ll want to work with your tenants on collecting as much rent as you can. It’s important to be flexible. Keep yourself open to payment arrangements and agreements. Make sure your residents understand the benefits available to them from the federal government and other sources.
The moratorium does not mean that the rent is forgiven. Your tenants still owe you this money. That should be an incentive for them to not fall too far behind. Keep the lines of communication open, and collect what you can.
Limit Your Eviction Risk
The best way to handle an eviction is to avoid it.
A good screening process will help you place tenants who have a record of paying rent on time. Make sure you talk to former landlords and get an idea of how they behaved. If you’re working with a property management company, they should have protections in place that keep you out of court. A good property manager will offer eviction programs that remove some or all of the cost and liability from the property owner.
If you have any questions about evictions and how to avoid them, please contact us at ROG Coastal Property Management. We can help you manage tenants who are struggling to pay now, and we can prepare you for the eviction process when you’re finally able to move forward.