MMI station

Evicting a tenant behind on rent

Kind
Ethical dilemma

Prompt

You manage an apartment building for its owner. A tenant who has paid on time for six years lost her job three months ago and has not paid rent since. She is a single parent of two children, and she tells you she has a job interview next week. The owner tells you to start the eviction process immediately, because other tenants have noticed and he does not want to set a precedent. What would you do?

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After you practice: what this question tests and how to approach it

What this question tests

  • Ethical reasoning
  • Empathy and compassion
  • Professionalism and integrity

How to approach this question

This MMI station tests how you balance compassion for one tenant against your duty to the owner and fairness to the other tenants. Name everyone involved: the tenant and her two children, the owner, who is owed the rent, the other tenants, and you as the person in the middle. Ask what you don't know, such as how much she owes, whether she could pay part of it, and what local rules say about eviction. Consider options between eviction and doing nothing, like a payment plan or a short written extension tied to her job search, which the owner could accept without setting an open-ended precedent. Then make a recommendation to the owner and explain it. When your own job is put on the line, decide where your limits are and explain them calmly.

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