What Landlords Need to Know about Filing for Eviction

A landlord may face many troubles with tenants, and one is to evict and remove the tenant from the property using an eviction notice. Although most landlords rush into the eviction process because of a lack of knowledge of state eviction laws or simply because of frustration and willingness to evict the tenant themselves, they often forget to serve eviction notices on tenants.

The landlord should complete the eviction process step by step and keep it all legal. The objective of this article is to explain the several phases of the appropriate eviction process, the laws of your state, the way to write an eviction notice, and filing an eviction in court.

  1. Know Your Eviction Laws

As a landlord, you should always make sure that you have proper knowledge of your state’s eviction laws because you need to have a sense of what to do before beginning the eviction process and giving the notice to your tenant. Every landlord should ensure that the lease agreement is written in light of state law. When it comes to eviction, each state has laws regarding rental property, lease agreements, and eviction procedures. It is beneficial to ask a real-estate lawyer to write a lease agreement for you in line with your state’s laws so you can evict your tenant lawfully.

  1. Valid Reasons for Eviction

When a landlord becomes acquainted with his state’s laws regarding eviction, he may consider if the breach of tenancy is a legitimate reason for removal. The following things may be a valid reason for filing a Notice of Eviction:

  • When a tenant fails to pay rent
  • When a tenant has damaged the rental property
  • When a tenant has breached the lease agreement
  • When a tenant has caused health or safety issues
  • When a tenant is involved in a criminal enterprise, noise pollution, or violation of health regulations
  1. Delivering the Eviction Notice

In the eviction notice, the landlord addresses the reasons for the eviction of his tenant and informs the tenant what he or she can do to prevent eviction.

As a landlord, you can prepare an eviction draft notice by using a state-specific eviction form template or write it yourself, and the following things should be included in your eviction notice:

  • A deadline for moving out
  • If rent is due, the amount owed including all charges

However, landlords must serve the notice within a particular time before filing the eviction papers in court. The notice can be handed to the tenant in person. Or, the landlord can post the announcement on the tenant’s front doors in addition to sending it by certified mail to the residence of the tenant.

  1. Taking the Case to Court

The landlord should get a hearing scheduled from the local court after the specified number of days has passed since the eviction notice was served on the tenant. Then the court will notify the tenant to attend the hearing.

Before reaching the court, it is essential to ensure that you have gathered all the crucial documents and evidence to prove a breach of the contract or any unpaid rent. Furthermore, it will save you from any false claims of the tenant in the court.

  1. End of Eviction

The eviction will be finalized after you have completed all the necessary steps, and probably you will win the eviction case, ultimately resulting in your tenant having to move out.  If the tenant doesn’t move, he will be forced out of the property by law enforcement.

However, you should make sure that you have collected your past due rent from the tenant. Check the laws of your state concerning the collection of past-due rent. You have to follow legal steps to get your money from your ex-tenant by either reaching out to small claims court and by garnishing his wages or tax refunds.