Learn the three stages to eviction so that you can protect yourself as a landlord or renter.
What you will discover:
Step 1: Lease Agreement Termination
Step 2: Eviction Lawsuit Filing
Step 3: Giving Law Enforcement Reasons to Avoid Eviction Based on the Court Judgment
Eviction does not occur overnight. The procedure might take months, and rigorous adherence to both state and local legislation is required. Learn the three stages to eviction so that you can protect yourself as a landlord or renter.
Table of Contents
Step 1: Lease Agreement Termination
To start the eviction procedure, the landlord must issue the tenant a notice of lease termination. In certain circumstances, the notification may not have to provide a particular cause for the eviction.
There are four sorts of termination notices:
Pay Rent or Quit the Premises – This notice specifies a deadline by which the renter must pay the outstanding rent or vacate the premises.
Cure or Quit – This kind of notification indicates a breach of the rental lease agreement. It specifies a deadline by which the tenant must vacate or fix the problem, which might include the removal of a prohibited dog or the purchase of a needed renter’s insurance policy.
Unconditional Quit – This sort of notice gives the renter no other choice than to vacate by the specified date. Many states have regulations that require evidence of the following in order for this notification to be valid:
A significant requirement of the residential leasing agreement was broken by the renter.
The renter did extensive damage to the rental property.
On the premises, the tenant engaged in criminal behavior.
The landlord intends to live in the property or allow an immediate family member to live there; this usually applies exclusively to rent-controlled homes.
The landlord intends to renovate the property and needs it to be unoccupied; this is usually only applicable in rent-controlled buildings.
Without Cause – This sort of notice does not need the landlord to provide a cause, but it may only be used to evict a tenant on a month-to-month lease. This notice may provide the renter with more time, often 30 or 60 days, depending on the state in which the eviction occurs.
Step 2: Eviction Lawsuit Filing
If the tenant fails to pay the rent, remedy the lease violation, and/or move out willingly, the landlord takes this next step. To carry the process further, the landlord must serve the tenant with a summons and complaint for eviction.
The renter may now legally contest the eviction in court. There are many defenses, including:
Claims Inaccuracy – If the landlord claims that the tenant caused severe damage to the rental property, but the tenant regards it as typical wear and tear, the tenant might provide pictures to substantiate the point.
Landlord Violations – If the landlord, for example, has not followed rules regulating the habitability of the rental property and the tenant delayed rent in an effort to compel substantial repairs, the tenant may also provide images as a defense. Violations may include failing to provide heat or failing to repair security measures such as outside door locks.
If the renter demonstrates one of the following, the court dismisses the action in favor of the tenant, and the tenant is permitted to continue in the leased property.
Step 3: Making the Court Judgment Available to Law Enforcement
If the court rules in favor of the landlord, he or she must next submit the judgment documentation to local law enforcement and pay an eviction escort charge. Local law enforcement, generally a member of the sheriff’s or marshal’s office, pays the tenant a visit and arranges for a return date to physically accompany the renter off the property, if required.
Reasons to Prevent Eviction
Eviction is something neither the landlord nor the renter wants to go through.
If a landlord fails to carefully follow eviction regulations, the tenant may sue the landlord even if the landlord wins the eviction action. If the landlord locked the renter out without a court order, for example, the court might require the landlord to repay the tenant for living expenses and to pay a penalty charge to the tenant.
An eviction may appear on a tenant’s credit record and in background checks, both of which are normally needed as part of the lease application process. A ruling in favor of the landlord also costs the tenant more than just relocating after receiving a lease termination notice, since expenses related with the eviction procedure are often assigned to the tenant for payment or restitution, along with any due rent.
Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, avoiding the eviction procedure is your best chance.
