How Do I Evict a Tenant?
Are you asking “How do I evict a tenant?” Do you have a renter that is giving you a headache day in and day out? Let us help you get rid of them for good.
If you’re a landlord with a tenant who clearly doesn’t care about your rules, it would make sense that you should be able to kick them out. Why should you have to go through the courts when this person has already broken the terms of the lease?
Unfortunately for you, even a bad tenant has legal rights and you need to use the courts to legally evict them to avoid trouble down the road. Changing the locks and putting all of the bad tenant’s stuff on the street is illegal. Furthermore, it opens you up to tons of liability. Your renter can then come back and sue you for damages!
To avoid being sued when you’re in the right, follow the proper legal steps to evict a tenant. If you want to evict someone, you need to show a real reason. For example, someone not paying rent on time or keeping an illegal animal is a good reason. Someone playing hip-hop music when you like classical is not.
The logical first step is to contact your tenant directly to try and work out the situation. This is your chance to show that you tried to fix things outside of court. During this time, be sure to keep a record of how you try to resolve the situation. If this doesn’t work, then you can move onto legal matters.
The first thing you need to do is serve notice. If a tenant does not pay rent, then you need to give them a three-day notice saying how much rent is due, when it is due, and you will start the eviction process if they don’t pay. Tenants frequently get out of evictions by proving that notice wasn’t properly served. Don’t let this happen to you – have a lawyer look over your notice if you’re unclear before delivering it.
If your tenant doesn’t fix the situation, then you can file with the court to evict. There are many forms to fill out, and all must be accurate and complete to win an eviction. The full process to evict can take as long as 2-3 months, so you want to be sure that you do everything right the first time.
Once you file the paperwork, a third party must “serve” them to the tenant. After this step, the tenant typically has five days to respond. If they don’t respond at all, the judge may be able to give you a “default judgement” to evict. Don’t forget to file proof with the court that you did indeed serve the tenant!
If there is a trial, both you and the tenant can share your side of the story. Keep in mind, the tenant may start bad-mouthing you and trying to show that you were a bad landlord. This is why you need to keep record of the process and your tenant’s misdemeanors. You need to give yourself the best chance of winning in court.
Assuming that you’ve properly followed all of these steps, you should have no problem winning, at which point the court will give you a “Writ of Possession” – your bad renter can finally be locked out! The tenant may also have to reimburse you for unpaid rent or legal fees.
The eviction process can be very hard and the burden is on you, the landlord, to prove wrongdoing. Learning how to properly evict can save you time, money, and a headache down the road.
On a regular basis, we will purchase properties with troubled tenants in place. If you don’t want to deal with evicting a tenant or tenants, click here for a free consultation. Follow us on Facebook for more tips on managing tenants : click here