If you violate the terms of the lease or fail to pay rent, the landlord can bring a legal proceeding to force you to move. You cannot be evicted without a court order served by the sheriff, marshal, or constable. If you are being evicted for failure to pay rent, you might offer to pay late. IF the landlord accepts the offer, the eviction proceedings stop. Be sure to get a signed receipt from the landlord whenever you pay rent.
The landlord must go to court to evict the tenant. Landlords who force tenants out by either changing the lock, or otherwise may be liable for three times the damage suffered.
Eviction is the landlord's right to cancel the lease, sue the tenant for unpaid rent, and ask a court to have a marshal or sheriff move the tenant out of the apartment if the tenant does not pay past due rent and/or will not leave voluntarily. The law requires the landlord to make a demand for unpaid rent or serve a 3-day notice requesting it before an eviction petition may be served.
Eviction begins when the tenant is served with a legal petition and a notice or "order to show cause". A letter from the landlord or the landlords attorney does not begin the court process. The tenant should seek legal advice if he/she receives an eviction notice.
Summary of Eviction Procedure
Eviction is the legal removal of a person from someone else's property.
The steps in an eviction are:
- Tenant defaults in rent payments and/or breaks in the terms of the lease.
- Landlord serves a petition showing reason and remedy for eviction.
- Tenant appears in court to contest the eviction. The tenant who fails to contest the eviction in court, loses the case by default.
- The court issues a warrant signed by a judge, to be served by the marshal, sheriff, or constable, requesting tenant to vacate premises.
- If there is no rent payment yet, the warrant will be served giving the tenant 72 hours to vacate.
- After 72 hours the marshal, sheriff or constable has the authority to remove the tenant's belongings from the premises and lock the tenant out.
