If a tenant refuses to vacate the rental property after the landlord has given a proper 30-day notice to vacate, the tenant is a holdover tenant. The landlord must evict the holdover tenant to regain possession of the property. For more information on evictions, see Eviction. If the landlord is forced to evict the holdover tenant, this eviction will go on the tenant’s rental history.
The landlord can also collect significant damages from the holdover tenant. If the tenant is holding over willfully and not in good faith, the landlord can sue the holdover tenant for damages equal to the greater of: 1) three months’ rent, or 2) three times the landlord’s actual damages from the holdover. In addition, the landlord may be able to collect reasonable attorney’s fees from the tenant.
