The first stage in the eviction process is to serve the tenant with what is called a Notice of Termination form.
You can evict tenants who are on a month-to-month lease simply by giving your tenant 30 days or 60 days advance written notice. The form is called a 30-Day Notice or a 60-Day Notice. In some states 30 days is required, in other states 60 days is required.
First though, you need to check your local laws for what is an acceptable reason to serve a 30 Day Notice.
Subsidized housing programs often limit what you can evict a tenant for. They usually have forms where you have to list the reason for the eviction.
Some rent control cities require "just cause" for eviction, and the landlords notice must state the reason for termination.
An eviction can never be retaliatory or discriminatory in nature.
There are basically 3 types of Notice of Termination forms that you can use to evict a tenant.
Pay Rent Or Quit is a notice given to a tenant who has not paid the rent. This notice instructs the tenant to either pay the rent or pack up and move. Tenants are then given anywhere from 3 days to 30 days to pay the rent depending on your local laws.
There is a notice called Cure Or Quit which is given to a resident who has broken some condition as listed in the rental agreement. It tells the resident to fix the violation in a certain amount of time (usually set by your local laws) or be ready to be evicted from your rental unit.
There is a notice called a Notice to Quit or Unconditional Quit which just tells the resident to move without giving them a chance to fix anything or to pay anything. This form basically just commands the tenant to pack his things up and get out by a certain date. I recommend you never use this notice. In the few court cases that a tenant has won against a property owner, it was because the owner served the tenant with this notice. You should only use this notice if the resident has severely damaged your rental unit or has committed some illegal act like robbery or murder. Never be lazy and use this form for all of your evictions.
If your tenant doesnt fix the violation, pay the rent, or leave the rental property after receiving the appropriate legal notice, he isnt automatically evicted.
You must go through the formal eviction process.
File the correct forms with the court and have the resident properly served with a summons and complaint. The complaint needs to only have unpaid rent on it. You must not put late charges or other fees on it. If you do, it is likely that the court will deny your complaint.
The biggest mistakes property owners make is in how they serve the tenant. You can not just put it in the mail or shove it under the door. You need to go through a court approved serving agency in most cities. Each state has its own rules for what is considered the correct legal serving of documents and forms. If you do not know the law in your area, you should contact a local attorney's office.
The court will set a date to hear your case and your tenant will be given a certain amount of time to file an answer to your summons and complaint.
At this stage, most residents will vacate your rental. The legal summons and complaint tells them you know the law and you know what you are doing. They know that they broke some condition of the rental agreement they signed with you when they moved in.
If your tenant settles informally, you must officially dismiss your court eviction action.
Even if the tenant ignores your summons and complaint and does not file an answer with the court, the eviction process still moves forward without the tenant.
This is called an uncontested eviction. The court requires you to prove your case, but the tenant isnt there to respond to or deny your charges. Typically, you can easily prevail in this situation, as long as you have good documentation.
4. Should your resident file a response with the court in the correct amount of time, and appear in court on the date given, you each will have the chance to present your evidence and then the court will make a ruling.
This is called a contested eviction. If youre prepared and professionally present the facts in a well-supported case, you can generally win. However, the courts can be very harsh if youve acted illegally or in a retaliatory or discriminatory manner toward the tenant.
5. Once you win the eviction lawsuit, you then give the judgment to the local police.
The local police will contact the tenant and tell them to move immediately by a certain date of face a lock out. A lock out is when the police come to your rental unit and physically remove the tenant and all her belongings from your rental. Make sure you have a locksmith meet the police at your rental and change the locks as soon as you regain legal possession of your rental.
Use an attorney to handle the eviction process. The filing and serving of eviction actions must be done in a very precise way. One little mistake can result in delays or even a lost case. Even if the tenant clearly violated your rental contract.
There are many eviction and collection law firms that specialize exclusively in legally evicting tenants.
With an eviction collection law firm, you simply turn the tenant over to them and they do the rest. They handle filing with the court, serving the tenant the legal notices of pending court action, and they even call the police and schedule a date for the lock out. All you have to do is show up at your home for the lock out so you can change the locks. Next, they have their own collections department where they keep calling the tenant to work out payment arrangements and put a negative mark on the tenants credit report until he does pay. - 26221
You can evict tenants who are on a month-to-month lease simply by giving your tenant 30 days or 60 days advance written notice. The form is called a 30-Day Notice or a 60-Day Notice. In some states 30 days is required, in other states 60 days is required.
First though, you need to check your local laws for what is an acceptable reason to serve a 30 Day Notice.
Subsidized housing programs often limit what you can evict a tenant for. They usually have forms where you have to list the reason for the eviction.
Some rent control cities require "just cause" for eviction, and the landlords notice must state the reason for termination.
An eviction can never be retaliatory or discriminatory in nature.
There are basically 3 types of Notice of Termination forms that you can use to evict a tenant.
Pay Rent Or Quit is a notice given to a tenant who has not paid the rent. This notice instructs the tenant to either pay the rent or pack up and move. Tenants are then given anywhere from 3 days to 30 days to pay the rent depending on your local laws.
There is a notice called Cure Or Quit which is given to a resident who has broken some condition as listed in the rental agreement. It tells the resident to fix the violation in a certain amount of time (usually set by your local laws) or be ready to be evicted from your rental unit.
There is a notice called a Notice to Quit or Unconditional Quit which just tells the resident to move without giving them a chance to fix anything or to pay anything. This form basically just commands the tenant to pack his things up and get out by a certain date. I recommend you never use this notice. In the few court cases that a tenant has won against a property owner, it was because the owner served the tenant with this notice. You should only use this notice if the resident has severely damaged your rental unit or has committed some illegal act like robbery or murder. Never be lazy and use this form for all of your evictions.
If your tenant doesnt fix the violation, pay the rent, or leave the rental property after receiving the appropriate legal notice, he isnt automatically evicted.
You must go through the formal eviction process.
File the correct forms with the court and have the resident properly served with a summons and complaint. The complaint needs to only have unpaid rent on it. You must not put late charges or other fees on it. If you do, it is likely that the court will deny your complaint.
The biggest mistakes property owners make is in how they serve the tenant. You can not just put it in the mail or shove it under the door. You need to go through a court approved serving agency in most cities. Each state has its own rules for what is considered the correct legal serving of documents and forms. If you do not know the law in your area, you should contact a local attorney's office.
The court will set a date to hear your case and your tenant will be given a certain amount of time to file an answer to your summons and complaint.
At this stage, most residents will vacate your rental. The legal summons and complaint tells them you know the law and you know what you are doing. They know that they broke some condition of the rental agreement they signed with you when they moved in.
If your tenant settles informally, you must officially dismiss your court eviction action.
Even if the tenant ignores your summons and complaint and does not file an answer with the court, the eviction process still moves forward without the tenant.
This is called an uncontested eviction. The court requires you to prove your case, but the tenant isnt there to respond to or deny your charges. Typically, you can easily prevail in this situation, as long as you have good documentation.
4. Should your resident file a response with the court in the correct amount of time, and appear in court on the date given, you each will have the chance to present your evidence and then the court will make a ruling.
This is called a contested eviction. If youre prepared and professionally present the facts in a well-supported case, you can generally win. However, the courts can be very harsh if youve acted illegally or in a retaliatory or discriminatory manner toward the tenant.
5. Once you win the eviction lawsuit, you then give the judgment to the local police.
The local police will contact the tenant and tell them to move immediately by a certain date of face a lock out. A lock out is when the police come to your rental unit and physically remove the tenant and all her belongings from your rental. Make sure you have a locksmith meet the police at your rental and change the locks as soon as you regain legal possession of your rental.
Use an attorney to handle the eviction process. The filing and serving of eviction actions must be done in a very precise way. One little mistake can result in delays or even a lost case. Even if the tenant clearly violated your rental contract.
There are many eviction and collection law firms that specialize exclusively in legally evicting tenants.
With an eviction collection law firm, you simply turn the tenant over to them and they do the rest. They handle filing with the court, serving the tenant the legal notices of pending court action, and they even call the police and schedule a date for the lock out. All you have to do is show up at your home for the lock out so you can change the locks. Next, they have their own collections department where they keep calling the tenant to work out payment arrangements and put a negative mark on the tenants credit report until he does pay. - 26221
About the Author:
Written By Steve Zappa. May this article help you with dealing with legally evicting your non-paying tenant. Should you need additional property management services and if you own property in California's Central Valley see Madera property management
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