Your tenant has already vacated your rental unit – so there is no need to file an eviction action — but they left owing you money. Is it worth your time and effort to sue them in order to obtain a money judgment? This is probably the third most frequently asked question that I receive when talking to landlords (the first two most asked questions in case you are curious are (1) which notice do I use when? and (2) how do I evict my tenant?).
There is not a simple answer to this question. It depends . . . on many things. Many variables need to be taken into consideration before deciding to spend the time and effort to sue an ex-tenant. Let’s consider what some of those variables are. Read the rest of this entry »