How does eviction work as a landlord when the people do not pay their rent?

[berwin]

Okay my family owns 2 houses on the same property and to our recent knowledge our renters have defaced out property (lit kitchen on fire, wrote on walls, spray painted our hardwood floor, broke pipes, etc) They are not paying rent, so do I have the ability to evict them with sheriff assistance? How does this legal process work?

[orson19]

You give 3 day pay or quit notice. You then file in court if they do not pay or vacate. The judge evicts them. Post notice of inspection and get photo evidence of the damage.

[sebastiano53]

You have to give them a Notice to Quit or Pay. That must give the amount owed (usually just rent, not including any late fees or other charges), the amount of time to pay or move, and inform them that if they are not out or paid by that date you will proceed to file court eviction. Then you serve them the notice. How that's done depends on your state law. Some require a process server. Others will allow the landlord to do it.

You may also give them a notice of termination of lease due to willful damages to the property. Check your state laws for details. In my state, this is a 5 day, non-curable eviction.

Either way, if they refuse to move or pay, you then must file in court. Usually this is a civil court matter called FED (Forcible Entry Detainer). In my state you must include copy of the Notice that was served. You will then be given a hearing date. At the hearing you will explain to the judge they owe you money and have done willful damages to the property and you want them out immediately. The judge then decides how long they have to vacate. If they aren't out after that final date, then you can have the sheriff assist you in removing them from the property using the Writ of Possession given by the judge (or mailed to you soon after the hearing). Finally, you clean and fix the property then charge them.

In the future, always run a credit and background check on potential renters.

[symington]

Not yet.. but eventually.. here is the process.. the time tables may vary depending upon the laws of YOUR state.. go look them up


1) Terminate their tenancy. You must give them a 30 day notice.
2) Still there on day 31? Do not accept any rent and issue a 3 day notice to quit.
3) 3 days later you file for an eviction. This can be in small claims court, superior court, on sometimes a state has a special department for this... typically a 2 week to 30 day wait... Make sure you sue and name EVERYONE WHO LIVES THERE. If you miss someone they will not be included in any eviction order
4) You go to trial, present the court with your damages (the rent owed including the time after the 30 day notice expired, the property damage, (have estimates) and court costs to date. The court will generally make an award to you for this amount plus an order of restitution (the rental )
5) You take the order to the Sheriff and he will schedule an eviction.. he adds his charges to the award.
6) On the day in question he shows up and they go out. You change the locks (RIGHT THEN) and its yours...
7) Now you need to collect the judgement.. you can do that in lots of ways.. garnishment, asset attachment etc.. that is not a part of the eviction tho so you can deal with that later,.. but it is easy since you have the court order of payment.

Start to finish.. about 2 to 2.5 months.,as an average.

.

[archy]

The homeowner will have to evict, not "family"

It takes 3 weeks in CA. WIth Easter it may take up to 13 days.

You issue a written 3 day pay or quit notice.

On day 4 you file a Summons and Complaint for an Unlawful Detainer. That is served by someone else. They have 5 days to respond to that. Then on day 6 (unless day 5 hit a weekend) you file for either a court date or a default judgment. If it was on weekend you can't do this until Tuesday.

Then you take your judgment, either from the court or default one to the sheriff who executes it. they charge for this. 5 days later the sheriff removes them.