Q A tenant that rents space in one of my office buildings has been struggling. It didn't pay rent for several months. I sued the tenant for nonpayment of base rent and additional rent. We signed a “stipulation of settlement” in which it agreed that if it didn't pay its overdue rent in six installments, I could evict it. By that time, the situation had begun to affect my ability to pay the mortgage and other expenses for my property.

Evicting a struggling tenant is never easy. Handling an eviction poorly may create a contentious situation for you and your property manager, or even result in a lawsuit for wrongful eviction. In this economy, it is critical to take action as soon as a tenant sends a partial rent payment or misses a rent payment altogether. Nonpayment of rent is the most common breach of a tenant's lease, and a major signal that it is on the verge of a default. Protect yourself by following a two-step plan to enforce the lease for a tenant experiencing financial difficulty.