​Should a landlord bring an eviction if a tenant is behind in rent? The short answer is a definite maybe. I think that the question that the landlord has to ask is what the landlord rather have the money or have the tenant leave.  That is the question that I always ask.

If the landlord just wants to the tenant to leave, then the landlord will need to convince the tenant to leave voluntarily.  The landlord has many different options for convincing a tenant to leave voluntarily. I will be happy to discuss options for convincing the tenant to do so in the context of a paid consultation.

If the landlord just wants the money (keeping in mind that the landlord can always sue in conciliation court after the tenant leaves), then I would take a slightly different tact, and convince the tenant to voluntarily enter into a formal payment agreement to get caught up.  Again, I would be happy to discuss options for getting the tenant to pay up in the context of a paid consultation.

These days, I do everything that I can to keep landlords out of court because Minnesota is such a tenant friendly state. A landlord is probably better off reaching a settlement agreement with the tenant before filing an eviction action on the theory that the W know is better than the devil you don't. With a settlement agreement, the landlord knows what the landlord is getting into. By filing an eviction, the landlord is leaving the decision of whether the tenant has to leave up to the judge – and the landlord may not be happy with the judge's decision.

I usually encourage landlords to contact tenants directly first before I get involved, if only because there are literally tons of agencies out there that will provide free legal advice to tenants (where are the free attorneys for the landlords?).  Tenants tend to get really defensive when and if an attorney gets involved.

Every landlord – tenant situation is unique, and I recommend that landlords talk to an attorney experienced in evictions and landlord tenant law before taking action based on this blog post.  To that end, I invite landlords to give me a call at 763-290-0445 to discuss their unique situation. I have represented many landlords, but typically do not represent tenants.

WARNING: The information contained in this blog post does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Tim is licensed to practice law only in Minnesota, and the information contained in this blog post may not apply to jurisdictions outside of Minnesota.  Further, reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 290-0445 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.

I am frequently asked whether a landlord should bring an eviction now that the eviction moratorium is over. The short answer is that you want to get your tenants to leave voluntarily, if possible. The longer answer is that it depends on why you want to bring an eviction.

These days, Minnesota is a very tenant friendly place. Landlords are generally better off getting tenants to leave voluntarily as opposed to filing an eviction. However, I have had a number of cases where tenants have made unreasonable demands, where tenants have simply not paid attention, and where tenants have gone out of their way to frustrate landlords where we have had no choice but to file an eviction – because the only way to get the tenant to pay attention is have a process server hand them and eviction complaint.

Landlords can get tenants to leave voluntarily in a number of ways, which I am always happy to discuss with landlords in the context of a paid initial consultation. However, I would not change the locks or stop utilities as a method of getting tenants to leave. Please see the blog post that I wrote on the subject at this link:

tbalandlaw.com/blog/can-a-landlord-change-the-locks-or-otherwise-lock-a-tenant-out

I usually encourage landlords to contact tenants directly first before I get involved, if only because there are literally tons of agencies out there that will provide free legal advice to tenants (where are the free attorneys for the landlords?).  Tenants tend to get really defensive when and if an attorney gets involved.

Every landlord – tenant situation is unique, and I recommend that landlords talk to an attorney experienced in evictions and landlord tenant law before taking action based on this blog post.  To that end, I invite landlords to give me a call at 763-290-0445 to discuss their unique situation. I have represented many landlords in conciliation court, but  typically do not represent tenants.

WARNING: The information contained in this blog post does not constitute legal advice and may not be applicable to your situation.  Tim is licensed to practice law only in Minnesota, and the information contained in this blog post may not apply to jurisdictions outside of Minnesota.  Further, reading this blog post does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Baland Law Office, P.L.L.C.  You should always discuss your situation with an attorney before taking any action based on what you may read in this blog.  To that end, please call (763) 290-0445 to set up an appointment to discuss your situation.