Is it possible to write rental agreement in such a way as to avoid having to go through lengthy eviction process?
Question Details:
My ideas include adding a clause eg that tenant voluntarily agrees to self-evict themselves after failing to pay rent for 15 days? Or to rent an apartment as non-residential premises with tenant permitted only to store belongings and prohibited from residing in such an apartment? Would such an agreement be respected by the court if landlord wanted to remove this tenant (who according to the agreement should not be residing there in the first place)? How would the above work when renting a non-residential (e.g. mother-daughter) "apartment"?
No, such language is unenforceable in Georgia except in cases of commercial leases. If you would like to discuss any issues further, please feel free to contact my office. The link to my contact information is below. Thank you. The foregoing is general information only, not specific legal advice. No attorney/client relation has been created or should be implied.
No, there is no way to avoid going through the courts and the eviction process if you have to get rid of a tenant who doesn't pay, who violates the lease, who damages your property, who holds over after the end of the lease, etc. The law simply does not allow any other mechanism for eviction, and there is no way to get around it. Even non-residential leases require eviction to get rid of a tenant, though the tenants have fewer protections than residential tenants do. (Note though that if someone is residing there even though you call it non-residential, the courts will treat it as a residential lease--and you may incur liability for code violations, trying to defraud the courts, etc.)
What you can do is put in a clause stating that in the event of eviction, the tenant will pay all the landlord's costs, including court costs and reasonable attorney fees--this provides an incentive for the tenant to get out, and lets you recover something for your trouble.
