Collection of rent after eviction or abandonment

[stephop]

Hello, all,

We own a duplex in Cobb County, GA. One of our tenants gave us his written notice, as required in the lease, that he will be moving out on November 1st, which we accepted.

Then he never paid his September rent and said he can't pay it. He said he knows he will be evicted. Since then, we have been following due process. We posted a "Pay Rent or Quit" notice, which he ignored. Then we filed for dispossessory with the Cobb County Magistrate's office. Then the sheriff's office served the dispossessory summons today. He has 7 days to respond.

I believe he may be thinking that when he finally moves out, either on his own or by force, he'll never have to worry about paying what he owes me. He would be off the hook, and we would lose around $1500 in unpaid rent. However, I know who his employer is (a medical facility).

Here's my question. If he either abandons the property (which legally gives me possession according to the lease) or is evicted by the court (either by failing to respond to the summons or failing to show up in court), he will no longer be living at the property. In that case, will the court help me retrieve the unpaid rent? Or will I have to file a separate case in small claims court for the unpaid rent?

Secondly, if he trashes the place when he leaves, as some tenants do, can I press charges with the police and file for damages? And if so, do I do that through small claims court or some other way?

Finally, will the court (dispossessory or small claims) help me file for garnishment, or would I have to do that as a second (or third) step?

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[mightymoose]

You are unlikely to complete the eviction process before November 1.
If he actually does leave at that time then you might be best off to just be glad he is gone. If he really doesn't have the money then pursuing him in court won't do much good... though you might be satisfied to get a judgment on his record that will follow him around awhile.
Don't count on getting the money. Review your state law and determine if you can legally keep any deposits in this case. You likely can, but you don't want him to come back and sue you for not returning cleaning deposits.

To answer your question- no, the court won't help you get the unpaid rent. The court will only issue a judgment that states he owes you the rent. It is still up to you to collect it... but you can't collect what he doesn't have.

If he deliberately causes damage then yes, you can make a report of vandalism. Some police officers might hesitate with this and refer you to the civil court... it will depend on the extent of the damage and whether it is obviously deliberate. Neglecting to care of the property is not the same as vandalizing it. You make a criminal complaint by calling the police and having them come to see what happened.

Filing for garnishment or any other attempt to collect will be your responsibility. Don't expect any help from the court because you won't get it. If you file papers they will process them... that's about it.

If I was in your position I would continue with the eviction process just in case the guy doesn't move out on November 1, but as soon as he is out I would just drop it and get a new tenant in there.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

What you are doing currently is filing only for the dispossessory, not for payment of owed rent. This must be done separately. If this is granted, you're on your own to collect the judgement. The court will do nothing to help you with this.

Both wage and bank garnishment are options in Georgia. Filing for this is done through the Clerk of Court office; same place you filed for the dispossessory. You need to provide the important details such as his bank account number (always take down this number which is on the bottom of every check), place of work, etc.

Gail

 

[stephop]

Thanks, Gail and MightyMoose.

Gail -- If I get possession of the property (either through the dispossessory hearing or abandonment), which I believe I will, can I file for wage and/or bank garnishment immediately? Or will I first have to go to small claims court to get a judgment for the unpaid rent amount? I ask because I had to stipulate the amount of unpaid rent on my dispossessory filing, so I assume if I win that, it will stipulate the amount owed without having to go to small claims court first.

 

[mightymoose]

You will need a judgment to garnish wages.

 

[army judge]

You will need a judgment to garnish wages.

Evicting the tenant doesn't mean you'll get the rent, allegedly unpaid or owed.

You must prove up what you allege is owed to you, OP, in a separate proceeding.

Should you prevail, there are several more legal steps you must climb, if you want to collect a dime or two. Once you attach or levy against wages, many people quit their jobs. The fight will be long and hard. It often ends with frustration and failure to collect the debt owed. Good luck, it ain't as easy as it should be.