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Eviction is the last recourse for resolving a dispute or issue with a problem tenant. Never enter an eviction action lightly, and never hesitate to evict a problem tenant if you have good reason.

An eviction involves several steps, which vary from location to location. All will involve the court system in one fashion or another, and it is recommended that you seek legal counsel before attempting to evict a tenant. None of the following should be construed as legal advice, as the author is not an attorney, merely a landlord with multiple decades of experience.

An important consideration in filing for eviction is how far is the court's calendar backed up. An eviction (in most cases) is a civil action like any other, and in this lawsuit-happy society, it could take anywhere from two weeks to two months before you will actually be in front of the judge.

In order to start an eviction, the landlord must first establish cause for the eviction. Cause' is a legal term, defined in Black's Law Dictionary as "Each antecedent of an event."

Most states require that the landlord give notice to the tenant of their intent to bring an eviction action against the tenant, stating the cause for the eviction. Depending on the cause, state law may also require that you give the tenant a set period of time to cure the breach of the lease. While this may feel like a burden upon you as the landlord, these laws were passed to prevent the unscrupulous acts of those other' landlords, and to keep people from being put out on the street without good reason.

In general, there are three valid reasons for filing for an eviction: 1) Non-payment of rent as agreed; or, 2) Other breach of the rental agreement (lease); or, 3) Using the property for illegal purposes.

If the landlord is seeking to evict the tenant for non-payment of the rent as agreed, he or she must keep, and be prepared to present, detailed records of the tenant's account with them. These records include, but are not necessarily limited to, an original of the signed lease, and a ledger showing the dates and amounts of payments accepted by the landlord.

Depending on the jurisdiction and the mood' of the judge you are assigned, failure to be able to present this information can cause a delay in a ruling from the court, and another month without rent being collected, not to mention additional legal fees.

If you did not personally process the rent payments or prepare the ledger, the judge might require that the person who did so appear as

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