What Does it Cost to Take
Delinquent Tenants to Court?

There are many different types of Court actions landlords can take against tenants.  The licensed real estate agents and property managers at DMS Properties, LLC Residential Real Estate Services handle each one in a different way and with costs that vary accordingly.

The process of going to Court against tenants is covered in our Management Fee of 8% of the monthly rent.  The exception to that is for landlords who insist on receiving any late fees paid by the tenants.  In that case, they will pay us $100 per hour to handle all rent collection activities.  So far, all of our landlords have elected to allow us to retain late fees paid by tenants, and it’s easy to see why. 

Failure to Pay Rent Action
and Warrant of Restitution

There are several Court actions that a landlord can take against tenants.  The two most frequently done are a Failure to Pay Rent action or a Warrant of Restitution (Eviction).  The costs to the landlord for filing these are the actual Court Costs:

  • For a Failure to Pay Rent Suit, there is a Filing Fee in District Court of $15.00, plus a Sheriff’s Service Fee of $5.00 per tenant who is on the lease.  In most cases, these are paid in Money Orders, so the cost of those are included.

  • For a Warrant of Restitution, there is a Sheriff’s Service Fee of $40.00 plus the cost of the money orders.

Eviction of Tenants

If the Warrant of Restitution is successful, the Sheriff’s office will contact us to schedule an eviction.  We will handle everything before, during and after the eviction.  This is one of the services we provide through our Homeowner Concierge Service program.  Typically, this will involve hiring a crew to remove all of the tenants’ personal property from the home.  This can cost anywhere from $900 to $1,500 or more, depending upon the size of the house and the jurisdiction.  It may also involve removing vehicles from the property.

Money Judgment Filings

In some cases, the landlord will lose money because of the tenants’ failure to pay rent and/or causing damage to their rental home.  Even though these losses are deductible write-offs, the landlord does have recourse to recover the losses.  We will refer you to one of the attorneys in our Business Directory to discuss your options.  We can help you file the necessary documents for a Money Judgement, but we only act as witnesses.  It can be a complicated process, because it involved locating the former tenants and having them served with the necessary Court papers.  

These cases are handled in Small Claims Court if the amount owed in under $5,000.  It generally doesn’t require the use of an attorney, although we strongly recommend that you hire one!  If the amount owed is over $5,000, then an attorney is essential because it is no longer in Small Claims Court.

Please be sure to review the other FAQs From Landlords if you are interested in buying a home.  Also review the other FAQs from Property Management Clients to learn more about real estate investing.