Are you about to be evicted? Are you looking to evict a tenant? In any case, evictions are an unpleasant experience for all parties involved. But they are sometimes necessary, to the misfortune of many.
Many people have asked, “How do evictions work?”. So that’s what this article is about.
We will cover when a landlord can send an eviction notice with cause, but also without cause. Besides this, we will cover the eviction process with some other perspectives. Keep in mind that there are a few factors that weigh the most heavily on whether or not the landlord and evicts a tenant with or without cause and that falls on the state laws and the eviction clause within the lease agreement form. Nonetheless, you can read more about 30-day eviction notice forms here https://www.ezlandlordforms.com/documents/eviction-notice-templates/.
So if you’d like to learn more about the topic, keep reading.
When An Eviction Notice Can Be Sent With Cause
Even the terminology varies for each state, there are three primary eviction notices that a tenant can receive if they have violated the lease or agreement in some shape or form.
A pay rent or quit notice is subject to tenants who have not paid rent. These notices will give you several days to pay the rent or you will have to move out.
A cure or quit notice is subject to a tenant who has violated a condition of their rental agreement, such as a promise to not make noise or do not have pets. Usually, the tenant will be given a timeframe in which they can correct their violation.
An unconditional quit notice orders a tenant to vacate the premises with no chances to correct their “errors”. In almost all states, this notice is allowed if a tenant has:
- seriously damaged the property
- engaged in illegal activity
- late with rent often
- violated rental agreement clauses regularly
And that’s about eviction notices that can be subject to a tenant with a reason.
When An Eviction Notice Can Be Sent Without Cause
However, even if you have not violated an agreement and have not been late with the rent, a landlord can still ask you to move out (unless you have a fixed-term agreement) as long as they give you enough notice in advance.
A 30 or 60-day notice to vacate can be used in most states when they don’t have a reason to end the tenancy.
Many rent control cities go beyond the law and they require the landlord to provide a recognized reason to terminate an agreement. These laws are known as just cause protections. Tenants in only some states can enjoy this type of protection.
After the receipt of an eviction notice, if you have not corrected your errors or have not moved out, the landlord can serve you with a summons. This will execute a complaint about eviction in the court of law.
The court will set a date for your trial before the judge. You have to show up. If you don’t, they will rule against you, even if you have a defense.
How Do Evictions Work for Landlords
If you are the landlord, you must serve the eviction notice before you can remove the tenant. Proper notice is variable for each state and can vary within counties and cities.
Check your state laws or with an attorney to ensure your notice is correct. Make sure the tenant is served properly, or you will have to start over.
As the landlord, you must serve in unlawful detainer proceedings before court action. It’s illegal to use self-help eviction to remove the tenant, such as locking them out, removing utilities, etc.
An unlawful detainer action begins by serving the tenant with a notice to pay rent or quit, termination of tenancy notice, notice to quit, notice to correct or quit, etc. Find out more about the impact of evictions.
Some notices allow the tenant to pay rent to prevent court proceedings. Other notices, such as notice to correct allow the tenant to correct their violations.
The notices have their own time limits. Some notices allow the tenant only several days to correct and move, whereas others can go up to 90 days. Now that you know how do evictions work for landlords, let’s examine the tenant’s defenses.
Unlawful Detainer Defense
If you are the tenant, you might have a defense against an unlawful detainer. Defenses notify the court of why an eviction is not subject to warranty. If you serve with a written response, but the defense is in there. If you’re not allowed to respond, orally argue your defense before the court.
Some defenses to eviction lawsuits are related to the actions and behavior of the landlord:
- Providing defective notice to quit
- Failing to properly serve an eviction notice
- Using self-help to evict
- Failing to properly serve the petition, complaint, or summons
- Failing to make repairs
- Using improper procedures
As the tenant, another defense would be to pay full rent promptly, according to the pay or quit notice of eviction. However, to find the best defense, you should communicate with an experienced and specialized attorney whose entire job is to protect tenants against unlawful and detrimental landlords. Don’t hesitate, you might end up in a better situation than if you were to become a victim of eviction.
Eviction Process Elaborated
Now that you know how do evictions work, whether you are the landlord or tenant, you can finally rest easy knowing that you know how to proceed if you need to evict a tenant or are subject to eviction by your landlord.
In any case, evictions are a painful part of the societal experience, and we wish it upon no one. But they do happen, and the best thing you can do is to be prepared, so make sure to learn more about the topic within the compounds of your state law.
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