A landlords Guide To Eviction Proceedings

By Layla Vanderbilt

If you?ve been a landlord long enough, you know that sooner or later you?re going to have to deal with a difficult tenant. Maybe you have a tenant who refuses to pay his or her rent. Perhaps he is engaging in conduct that threatens to damage your property. It could be that he?s making a nuisance of himself and causing problems for your other tenants. If you have a tenant who has made it impossible for you to continue the landlord/tenant relationship with him, you do have remedies available to you. This article sets forth some of what you can do if you find yourself in this position.

Evictions for Non-Payment of Rent An eviction for non-payment involves serving a formal notice to the tenant informing them that their rent is overdue, and that he or she faces possible eviction if payment is not made on time. Pre-printed forms which fulfill all legal requirements for a notice are available for those landlords that aren't familiar with the appropriate terms. If the rent in arrears is not paid after the legally defined period (usually a week), a landlord can then begin eviction proceedings. It's important to remember that if a landlord accepts a partial payment during the eviction process, this can result in the dismissal of the eviction proceedings for non-payment of rent in most jurisdictions.

Violation of Lease Terms If a tenant hasn't complied with the terms of the lease they have signed, a landlord is required to provide a written warning detailing the lease clause being violated. The landlord must then allow the tenant time to remedy the problem so that the tenant cannot later claim either ignorance of the lease violation, or that they received no notice of the violation. A judge will generally rule in favor of the landlord if he or she is able to establish that the tenant ignored a prior notice.

Health and Safety Issues In many jurisdictions, it is permissible for a landlord to evict tenants whose conduct is deemed hazardous to the health of other tenants, or if they pose a safety problem. To begin with, a landlord should serve the tenant with a fixed notice period (typically a week) to remedy the problem or move out. If the tenant takes no corrective action, eviction proceedings can ensue. Even if the tenant resolves the health or safety issue, a landlord can still serve a notice of eviction on health or safety grounds if the landlord deems it necessary.

Bankruptcy If a tenant files for bankruptcy, an automatic stay stops eviction proceedings until the bankruptcy is resolved or the bankruptcy court lifts the stay and allows the eviction to proceed. Lifting a stay in any circumstance may require a motion to be brought before the bankruptcy court.

Tenant Counter-Claims Tenants can bring counter-claims against a landlord after eviction proceedings have begun. The basis of these counter-claims may be inadequate maintenance, or violation of the lease, and the tenant may ask the court to stop eviction proceedings or a substantial decrease in the amount of rent in arrears. As a result, it's a good practice to keep written records of complaints received from tenants about individual units or common areas that also detail steps taken by the landlord to resolve them. A landlord can then address the tenant counter-claim by demonstrating the actions taken to resolve problems reported.

Trials you must make sure you have all your paperwork together before you go to court. You don't want to find out that there is something missing, when its too late. Unless you are very familiar with all the rules and regulation of your states rental laws, hiring a lawyer who is up to date on this, will be a plus. This article should give you a good grasp on what exactly it is that you need to do in order to begin the eviction process on one of your tenants. - 23222

About the Author:

Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading property management solution review website which connects people with the leading property management tools.