Should I try going after the tenants for money owed, or cut my losses?

[John S Prado]

Hey everyone,

I am preparing for a small claims court with a tenant in Toronto. I'm wondering if text message conversations will be accepted as evidence, or should I start using email to communicate with the tenant.
My tenants stopped paying rent last October. They strung the property manager along with a serious of empty promises about hardship loans. They've been hit on their credit report for about $10K in back rent and repairs. I'm being told that I can have the property managers take them to small claims court, but it will cost me an additional $1K.

The property is mostly a break-even situation; the rent gives me an extra $200/mo, but I figure that covers repairs, etc.

Should I try going after the tenants for money owed, or cut my losses? I figure they're probably getting ready for bankruptcy.

Any thoughts or advice will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[paulajayne]

This is a UK based site - Seek assistance on a Canada based one.

[ostell]

If the tenants are broke then probably better for you to just walk away and not spend more money that you probably not recover.