Can you call the cops on your tenant? Yes you can. But the real question is whether or not the cops will do anything when you call. It is likely they will not. Not because they do not want to or do not sympathize with you, but because the landlord-tenant relationship is treated differently under the law. Here is how.
Criminal vs. Civil
Cops get called to all sorts of situations. From the murderous to the mundane, they see the darker, stranger side of life and will often take action if a criminal offense has occurred. The occurrence of a criminal offense is the key.
So what is a criminal offense?
Shoplifting bread from Wal-Mart constitutes theft, passing a counterfeit $20 bill is fraud, breaking a window is destruction of property and someone sitting on your front porch that refuses to leave is trespassing. All of these scenarios are types of criminal acts that the cops can and often will take someone to jail for.
But what about the tenant that does not pay their rent? Is that not theft? Does punching holes in your walls equal destruction of property? When the boyfriend who is not on the lease moves in is that trespassing? Is it not fraud to knowingly write a rent check that will bounce?
Many would answer yes to the above questions. Theft is theft and trespassing is trespassing. However, the powers that be do not quite see it this way. In most states (Arkansas being an example of the opposite) these issues have been deemed civil matters as opposed to criminal.
In effect, legislating most landlord-tenant issues as civil matters means calling the cops will do the landlord no good. The cops will not likely be able to do anything because the various state legislatures have prohibited them from doing so. The cops may respond to your call, but unless there has been violence the responding officer is likely to tell you there is nothing they can do.
Your Remedy Is With The Courts, Not The Cops
Instead, the police will tell you that the matter is a civil one. They will tell you that your remedy is to be found in the courts, not with them. To reverse a wrong and reclaim your rights as a landlord you have to file a lawsuit. These lawsuits can range from the eviction we are all familiar with, to a request to garner wages due to damages above and beyond a security deposit. Even that boyfriend who has moved in and is trespassing will likely not result in any action.
As I said, only in the most extreme cases will calling the cops result in any action. In all my years as a landlord, and in taking to hundreds of landlords, I can count the number of times the police have taken action against a tenant on one hand.
Screening Is The Key
So yes, you can call the police on your tenants but it is likely that nothing will come of it. In most cases, the police are legally barred from taking action. A better idea is to screen tenants thoroughly so that you will not need the services of the police in the first place. Of course, people can and will do things that no screening method will uncover, so if you need to, call 911. Most of the time however, screening is the best protection.
Kevin Perk is the founder and publisher of Smarterlandlording.com. He is the author of Advice From Experience To New Real Estate Investors. Subscribe to Smarterlandlording here. Contact Kevin here.
