I am not a lawyer and good for me for that. I am a landlord.

I call you kind hearted and maybe a little of the other also.
There are tow things you can try to do, You can get a judgment against her but that probably does not get you any money and ups your costs. She may have the money, but she is not giving it to you. If she has a job, that is a different matter.
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I am not a lawyer and good for me for that. I am a landlord.

I call you kind hearted and maybe a little of the other also.
There are tow things you can try to do, You can get a judgment against her but that probably does not get you any money and ups your costs. She may have the money, but she is not giving it to you. If she has a job, that is a different matter.
You can evict her by giving written notice. The length of time and form to use depends on your location.
Then you can get a renter who pays, hopefully.
Five months behind usually means you are not getting any money.
It is time to move on.

I'm not sure what state you're in, however, in most states if you contact the sheriff's office ( not the police department ) and declare that you want to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent due, they'll give you forms to fill out. This will allow you to have your day in court.

( Be sure to read the expanded answer field)

...

I'm not sure what state you're in, however, in most states if you contact the sheriff's office ( not the police department ) and declare that you want to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent due, they'll give you forms to fill out. This will allow you to have your day in court.

( Be sure to read the expanded answer field)

To get on the court calendar can take a lot of time, so start the ball rolling soon. Many states have "cold weather " laws which prevent evictions generally from Nov. 1st. through to March 31st). Many tenants are aware of this fact;

Next, unless you "loaned" the $3000 with a promissary note attached ( that your tenant signed and dated ) you're going to have a tough time collecting this debt too ( if at all).

Times are tough for everyone in this economical climate and no one wants to seem insensitive, yet no one wants to be someone else's fool neither. I would suggest that you inform your tenant right away ( without going into details) that you're taking steps for her eviction.

There will probably be a lot of wailing and bitterness. Hold firm. There might even be a partial (or total) repayment of that personal debt, but this too will only be a "stalling" tactic;

Be crystal clear that any money your tenant may give you, is toward the repayment of that $3000 dollars, even if she says "this is for past rent". You must state that "rent debt" starts after the repayment of "personal debt".

Give her a receipt for the amount of the "personal debt" repayment that was made... ( unless you want this albatross around your neck for a long time don't stop the eviction process)

Remember, if your tenant can put you off until that "cold weather date" she'll have succeeded in getting another potential six months of shelter free.