Non-paying tenant changed locks
June 17, 2012
My mother owns a house that she rents out…The person that lives there has not paid rent for two months..We are now in the process of eviction..My question is she has put more locks on the door and we cannot enter..I would like to know can we break the locks and enter the property?? Or do we have to wait for the eviction to go thru??? Thank You for your help
Thank you for your property management question.
You should be able to call or send a letter to the tenant with a time scheduled for you to inspect the property or perform maintenance. You can explain in the notice that the tenant does not need to be present, but if the tenant has changed the locks then the tenant should be there with an extra copy of the new key to give to you.You definitely should not change the locks in such a manner as to prevent the tenant from accessing the property. You many only do that after the eviction has been completed.
About the Author: Bob Cain
Some 30 years ago Bob Cain went to a no-money-down seminar and got the notion that owning rental property would be just the best idea there is for making money. He bought some. Trouble was, what he learned at the seminar didn’t tell him how to make money on his rental property. He went looking for help in the form of a magazine or newsletter about the business. He couldn't find any.
Always ready to jump at a great idea, he decided he could put his speaking and writing skills to work and perform a valuable service for other investors who needed more information about property management. So Bob ferreted out the secrets, tricks and techniques of property management wherever he found them; then he passed them along to other landlords.
For over 25 years now, Bob has been publishing information, giving speeches, putting on seminars and workshops, and consulting for landlords on how to buy, rent and manage property more effectively.