No one likes the idea of having to evict someone or face an eviction in court, but these can unfortunately become harsh realities of life for some people. Ideally, everyone will just pay their rent or lease amounts on time and in full, but life happens, and this is not always possible. Indeed, our mediators at our private investigation agency see many reasons why the working relationship between the property owner and the tenant break down, as well as why landlords tenant mediations are much better for all parties over the formal eviction process in court.
The reasons that landlords want tenants out and tenants stop paying rent can vary widely. However, our mediators have put together a partial list of some of the most common reasons these disputes between property owners and their tenants arise. These include, but are not limited to, the following:
The Tenants Lose Their Job and No Longer Have Money to Pay the Rent:
Sometimes bad things happen in life, due to our own fault or that of others. Thus, sometimes bosses fire people with cause or even lay them off because the company begins struggling or is just cheap and wants to hire less expensive employees to fill the work roles. Whatever the case, a loss of income often immediately threatens a person’s ability to have financial security. When the needed income that these individuals used to send to the property owner each month as payment for the lease dries up, conflicts between the landlord and the tenant occur.
The property owner does have taxes to pay, as well as insurance and maintenance. They may rely upon this income to help cover their own living expenses, so when the tenant stops making payments, the landlord also suffers. Unless the tenants find new employment that will provide enough income very quickly, the situation for both parties will quickly deteriorate.
The Property Owners Fail to Make Needed Repairs:
Our alternative dispute resolution mediators note that another reason that tenants sometimes fail to pay the necessary rent is because some property owners are slumlords and fail to make needed, often urgent, repairs. Oklahoma’s laws fail to offer much protection for tenants in these cases. Since the property owners often still want their money regardless of the repair status, the matter will often end up before an eviction court judge or will go through a mediation service for tenant-landlord disputes.
In an ideal world, all property owners would make adequate repairs and keep up their properties very nicely. But when mold infestations, non-working toilets, flooding, leaky roofs, etc., threaten the livelihood of the tenants and cause distress, health problems, and/or safety issues, Oklahoma tenants should have the right to withhold rent until a judge can help sort everything out. Mediation services for rental disputes can help tenants and property owners work out these differences without the need for judicial action.
The Tenants Damage/Destroy the Rental Property:
Some tenants are just awful people. It is already bad enough that most tenants do not take care of rental properties they are residing at as well as if they owned them, but some tenants outright destroy the inside and/or outside of the rental properties as well. Some renters intentionally cause damage, smearing paint, urine, and feces on the walls and flooring. Cats are not disgusting like this, because they are exceptionally clean. Thus, our mediators assert that it is better for landlords to have cats with well-funded humans living in a separate facility who can pay for their rental fees as tenants, rather than any human actual beings inside of rental properties.
Indeed, our process servers at our private detective agency have sadly encountered countless examples of the devastation and destruction that some renters cause just while serving notices to pay or quit and summonses and petitions for forcible entry and detainer. Property owners can ask for damages to the property in their eviction lawsuit or during alternative dispute resolution services for renter-landlord disputes, but collecting the money back through garnishments and work is often challenging and can become near impossible if the tenants become unemployed and have nothing in their bank accounts.
The Tenants Commit Dangerous Crimes/Have New Criminal Charges:
Sometimes the government charges people with serious crimes, such as rape and murder. When this occurs, if they are renting a property, some landlords may become concerned for the safety and wellbeing of the other tenants and neighbors. Thus, while in the USA people are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, the court of public opinion is a separate one with different, often unfair rules, and sometimes landlords begin to evict tenants facing serious charges out of fear and/or disgust.
When this occurs, both the property owner and the tenant often end up in mediation services for renters and property owners. Unless and until proven guilty in a court of law, property owners should not be able to evict tenants. However, in Oklahoma, landlords can use an expedited eviction process, giving only a 24-hour notice instead of a 5-day notice to pay or quit, and then filing the summons and petition for forcible entry and detainer.
Unless both parties opt for mediation to work out a mutually acceptable arrangement via a Memorandum of Understanding, renters may find themselves without a place to live, especially if their contractual agreement specifically prohibits engaging in criminal activity or even accusations thereof. Unless there is hard evidence of drug or other criminal activity or the incident happened to the landlords, the owners of our private investigation agency in Moore passionately believe that property owners should not be able to evict tenants for this reason without a criminal conviction or similar disposition.
The Tenants Have a History of Constantly Moving Around & General Instability:
Some renters are habitual movers. They often have a long history of moving, evictions, and/or destroying property they rent. While property owners should properly vet their prospective tenants before renting to them, so do not or even if they do, the skip traces that process servers and private eyes do might still allow them to have flown under the radar. This is especially true if they are noticeably young or always had their utilities, rental/mortgage agreements, and phones registered to other people.
Experts in a variety of fields note that the best predictor of future success is past success. This is true in romance and familial relationships, friendships, employment, and of course housing as well. Thus, landlords must remain vigilant and cautious about handing the keys and access to their properties to renters with unstable living histories. Not everyone deserves to possess the keys to the landlord’s castle.
Please remember that most people tend to frequently repeat patterns. While changing one’s toxic patterns and behaviors can happen, it usually takes much time and effort. So, if your new tenant already has a lengthy history of habitually bouncing from one apartment or house to another with great frequency, the do not be surprised when the individual does same thing when they rent from you.
The Tenants and/or Property Owners Become Old/Senile, and/or Mentally/Physically Ill:
Whenever a renter or landlord becomes mentally unstable, experiences dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, or contracts a terrible illness like cancer, it can affect the quality of the tenant/property owner relationship. Indeed, these types of illnesses can not only harm a tenant’s ability to pay the lease amounts on time due to job absences and loss, but when the tenant and/or landlord is mentally ill, it causes a breakdown in communication and the working relationship.
As you can see, there are many reasons why tenants fail to pay rent they owe to property owners they rent from. Our alternative dispute resolution services offer access to the best mediators in Oklahoma who can help find both renters and landlords alike find middle ground and a path forward or at least a smoother clean break. If both parties are able and willing, both parties can avoid courtroom litigation and permanent eviction orders on their civil records, making securing future rental properties for tenants easier and less stressful. Call or come by today and locate the best mediation service at our private investigation agency.
