Lease was not renewed but tenant won't vacate - PART TWO

[dangit]

The lease has a Right of Entry provision which states the "landlord has immediate right of entry ......to protect or preserve the premises."

Considering the circumstances presented in the original post, can I:

1) Legally gain access for immediate inspection?
2) Legally gain access on a daily basis?

If I am able to determine the tenant did not maintain the premises per terms of the lease (i.e. lack of routine pool maintenance), or upon inspection determine the property has been damaged (i.e. holes punched in the wall, etc.), can I:

1) Notify the police department and file a complaint of vandalism?

Finally, and I learned of this only this morning, the co-tenant on the lease own's another residence in the county. Can I:

1) Through small claims court, pursue damages in addition to loss of income.
2) ...and will the courts enter a judgement which places a lien on the co-tenants assets?

Thank you all again.

P.S. It's obvious I am not knowledgeable in landlord/tenant relationships. However, as a registered nurse I am trained to collect objective/subjective data prior to initiaing an intervention(s), therefore I rely on this site for direction.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

Unless there is an emergency, you need to give your tenant adequate notice (typically 24 hour notice) before entering the property. Daily access would imply harrassment.

Police are not going to touch this issue without a court ordered eviction (they are present when the eviction occurs), citing this as a civil, not criminal situation. They certainly aren't going to cite someone for not providing pool maintenance and they'll tell you to sue the tenant yourself if they've done any damage to the unit.

Many landlords do pursue lawsuits for owed rent. They usually wait until the tenant has vacated the premises (or been evicted) so that the lawsuit will contain both owed rent and damages above normal wear and tear.

It is often up the landlord to attempt to collect any judgement granted. If the former tenant doesn't voluntarily pay, bank or wage garnishment (depending on the state this took place in) are options you can look into. However, you (or your attorney if you file for an eviction through an attorney) are the ones that need to do the "leg work" in this matter; the court will not help in terms of finding out where the former tenant banks, etc..

Often it is simply easier to work with an attorney who has experience in handling evictions rather than trying to go this on your own.

Gail