The second riskiest move a landlord faces in an eviction is entering into an eviction settlement agreement with a tenant. But the reward, when the gamble pays off, is huge.
Why It’s So Important to Handle Your Texas Eviction Settlement Agreement Properly
If you handle your eviction settlement agreement properly, you’ll enjoy the following:
- An end to the litigation;
- An end to the uncertainty of litigation;
- A known move-out date for your tenant;
- Agreement and your tenant’s commitment to leave the property is a specific condition;
- Compensation for unpaid rent;
- Your tenant’s waiver of his right to appeal;
- Terms that are fully enforceable.
Those last two are the big ones….
But here’s the problem: you must take the right steps and your settlement documents must include the right elements for you to enjoy the benefits of an enforceable eviction settlement agreement.
Texas landlords often miss out on many of these HUGE benefits because they don’t understand how to properly structure an eviction settlement agreement. Or – worse – they use documents that do little more than say, “We agree to end the lawsuit.” NEVER use documents you can’t enforce.
Why an Enforceable Eviction Settlement Agreement is So Important
Maybe you’re wondering why enforcement is such an important detail?
Let’s take a closer look. Think about the timeline for your eviction. Your notice to vacate was probably 3 days. Perhaps it was more; perhaps less. It took several days for the Constable to serve your tenant. And then the court probably set your eviction trial out about three to four weeks. Between now and your trial date (or – for some of you, after trial) you will hopefully enter into an eviction settlement agreement. But that agreement will almost certainly give your tenant additional time in the property. This can vary depending on circumstances, from as little as a week to a couple of months.
Your timeline will likely look something like this:
When we ask ourselves about enforcement, we are asking ourselves, “What happens when the tenant gets to the very end of the eviction settlement agreement and the tenant refuses to leave?”
If you’ve staged your eviction settlement agreement properly, you’ll have the ability to bypass the requirement that you restart the entire eviction process.
If you’ve made the mistake of doing what most landlords do on an eviction settlement agreement, you would have to restart the entire eviction process from the very beginning. You would have to re-issue the notice to vacate.
Ouch!
And if your tenant takes this all the way through to the bitter end, you are likely looking at an additional two months from the date the tenant promised to move out in your poorly written eviction settlement agreement.
Don’t fall for this trick. Remember: for many of you, your tenant promised to pay rent and later broke that promise. You have no business taking this person’s word for anything. All future promises with your tenant need to be enforceable.
What You Get With Girling Law’s Eviction Settlement Agreement Packet
Girling Law’s Eviction Settlement Agreement Packets ensure you have everything you need to stage an enforceable settlement agreement. Here’s what you get:
- XXX pages of detailed, attorney-drafted instructions;
- Our firm owner’s explanation of what settlement terms are reasonable;
- Review of when it is best to negotiate a settlement with your tenant;
- Settlement agreement drafted specifically for eviction from residential real estate;
- Agreed Judgment;
- Customized documents; the only blanks you fill in are signature lines;
- Discussion of what documents to record, and when to record them;
- Advice on when to seek enforcement and when not to;
- Description of the step to take to enforce your judgment.
If you have filed your eviction lawsuit, you need to order your Eviction Settlement Agreement Packet right now. Select the red button, below. We will deliver your customized, attorney-drafted forms in a PDF email attachment within minutes.