Steps To The Eviction Process

Having to go through the eviction process is not an ideal situation for any landlord or tenant to experience. It’s stressful, emotionally draining, and comes with a lot of paperwork. There have been over 500,000 eviction cases since mid-march of last year. Here is breakdown of the eviction process and what are grounds for eviction.

What Are Grounds for Eviction?

  • Breach of Lease Agreement
  • Property Damage
  • Nonpayment of Rent
  • The Lease Expired and the Tenant Won’t Move Out
  • Doing Anything Illegally on or in The Property

How to Properly Evict a Tenant

  1. Review your local and state eviction laws.
  2. Make sure you have a legal reason for eviction (listed above).
  3. Communicate with your tenant about the issue in an effort to resolve it.
  4. Provide your tenant a formal Notice of Eviction.
  5. Go to your local court and file for an eviction.
  6. You and your tenant will receive a Notice of Hearing in the mail telling you where and when your court date is.
  7. Attend the court hearing.
  8. If the court rules that you’ve won, the court will send a sheriff to provide the tenant a Writ of Possession (sometimes called a Writ of Restitution), which tells your tenant he or she needs to leave the property by a particular date. It typically provides the tenant eight days to leave.

It is very important to have a clearly written out lease agreement with all termination options listed. It is also very beneficial to have a lawyer look over the agreement to make sure there aren’t any clauses that could bite either tenant or landlord hard later on.

According to Covid19.Census.Gov on average there are 3.7 million eviction cases yearly. With a fairly heavy influx of the majority taking place in the midwest – places like Kansas City and Tulsa rating in the top 75 of highest percentage of total eviction percentage in the United States. It is highly recommended that both landlords and tenants thoroughly vet either party to make sure it is a good fit.

Furthermore, if a landlord is to declare bankruptcy or have to foreclose on a property there still is an eviction process that has to occur. The process is pretty similar however it can come from a new owner who has purchased the property from the previous landlord or bank.