General Guidelines for Eviction from Rented Residential Property

Eviction is basically a set of rules and conditions that have been laid-out in the lease agreement which is harmonized with state specific laws and codes that is linked to a number of procedures that the landlord can follow to remove a tenant from rented property and make the lease agreement null and void. The whole process can be complicated and not without costly litigation risk but it is possible to to make an application to a court for authorization for the sheriff to remove a tenant from a residential property.

Reasons for an Eviction Notice

There are two categories for eviction that have different mandates for evicting people from a residential homestead:

Eviction Notice For Non-Payment of Rent: the landlord gives fair and reasonable notice of eviction because the rent has not been paid and gives the tenant the opportunity to recover the situation and to be allowed to continue living at the property by paying the debt. The notice gives a final correction date otherwise known as a cure date and if that is not satisfied the notice gives a final date to the tenant to leave the premises.

Eviction Notice for Breach of Lease Agreement: If the tenant breaks the terms and conditions of the agreement because of the way the premises are being used that is contrary to the explicit terms and conditions of the agreement then the landlord can pursue the path of issuing an eviction notice but there are stringent rules that have to be followed to void being heavily fined.

The steps for the landlord to take is as follows which are not dissimilar to the non-payment of rent scenario:

The tenant must have a written warning that explains how the tenant has violated the terms of the contract with a reasonable length of time allowed to take corrective action.

In the event that the tenant fails to change the circumstance of breaking the terms of the lease agreement then the landlord must apply to the court for a formal eviction proceeding by lodging a complaint or petition with the local state court.

The Tenant is then served with the court documents and has the opportunity to to file an answer to the landlords eviction notice. And in some jurisdictions the tenant can request to have trial by jury where the final decision about eviction is made by the jury.

In any event if the tenant does not cooperate with the court by either answering the eviction notice and by not attending the court hearing then the landlord wins the argument. This underlines the importance of providing accurate verbatim information and attending a court session because many cases of eviction are caused by a mutual lack of understanding and communication.

When the landlord wins the eviction order case a writ is issued to the tenant within a few days giving the opportunity to leave the rented property voluntarily and the writ id then followed a short time afterward s by a visit from the Sheriffs office or law enforcement officials to return possession of the premises to the landlord.

Landlord/ Tenants Eviction Order Defense

Improper Eviction Notice: The notice has to be delivered and served in a particular way which is typically by recorded delivery where the recipient who signs for the receipt of the notice has to be the contractual tenant as a guarantee and documentary evidence that the notice was received by the right person. This also shows the court the amount of time the landlord has scheduled in serving the notice. If there are any problems with the length of time given to the tenant or issues regarding the delivery and serving of the notice then the landlord has to go back to square one and restart the whole process again even if the tenant is in default of the terms and conditions of the lease agreement for any reason or has failed to pay the rent.

Accepting Part Payments of Rent: In the event that the landlord accepts part payment of rent the legal implications are; the tenant is not complying with the terms of the lease agreement and the consequence for the landlord is that the right to evict the tenant is lost. During that period of accepting partial payment of rental income, which can temporarily alleviate financial difficulties for the tenant, the right to evict is lost and the circumstance can backfire on the landlord because of the lengthened period to effect an eviction. The landlord can circumvent the difficulties that can sometimes evolve from accepting a part payment by having the tenant to sign an agreement where the tenant relinquishes all legal rights that could be claimed under a temporary partial payment scheme. This effectively allows a continuation of the landlords legal rights and the right to evict is uninterrupted.

Maintenance of the Rented Residential Premises

A tenant can claim that the landlord has not properly maintained the property and therefore has stopped paying the rent as a protest. In this situation the tenant has to send the landlord a written notice that the property has key maintenance problems that have been neglected by the landlord giving a reasonable length of time to carry-out the repairs. It is worth noting that if the landlord ignores the request then the tenant is allowed to have the repairs done paid for out of the rent; in many states the cost of this practice is restricted to a ceiling of the monthly rent. But if the tenants judgment and observations about the landlord being negligent and following a path of constructive eviction are proved correct then this strategy and claim can be an effective defense against being evicted.

In some situations a tenant may be viewed as being a trouble-maker by making false reports to the authorities that the landlord has broken state leasing laws and codes or reported that the rented home is unfit for people to live-in and is not habitable as excuses for not paying the rent and to escape from being evicted. If the landlord can show that those reports are false a retaliatory eviction claim will be accepted as an acceptable defense for evicting troublesome tenants.