Just A Landlord

Eviction – Non-Payment Of Rent:

The most common eviction is for non-payment of rent or other charges. This action begins with the service of a Five-Day Notice.  (Forms are available on the Apartment Association Web Site) This notice allows a tenant to “cure” (stop the eviction) by paying all amounts due within the notice period. Fill in the form as shown in the Sample Five-Day Notice and then serve it on the tenant in one of the 3 manners listed below.

Potential Problem: If you accept partial payment, you may have waived your right to continue the eviction without service of a second notice. It may help if you are accepting a partial payment to write on the receipt that no promises were made in regards to the eviction, and if the balance is not paid by a certain date, the landlord will continue the eviction process.

Potential Problem:  If you use the older style “fill in the date” style five day and you calculated the date wrong your eviction will fail even if you wait the proper amount of time before filing the eviction.

Potential Problem: A Five-Day Notice can not be served on the first- you must wait until the second or the date the rent is due under a written agreement.

Tip: If you are tired of a tenant on a year lease that is constantly late on their rent you can serve them a Fourteen Day Notice which does not allow them to stay. This can only be done after they have received a 5-Day Notice for nonpayment in a previous month within the same lease term.

Eviction – Rental Agreement Violation Month-to-Month Agreements :

Written or oral month-to-month rental agreements. In cases where the tenant has violated the rental agreement or committed waste (damaged the property), you may use a Fourteen Day Notice. The 14 Day Notice does not permit the tenant to cure, although the owner always has the option of stopping the process.

Potential Problem: The owner has the burden of proving the lease violation. If the tenant goes to court to contest the eviction action you must be prepared to offer proof such as photos, police reports, or witnesses. Simply repeating a complaint that another tenant gave you is not “admissible” as evidence. Typically, problem tenants do not come to court to contest the eviction because they know they are trouble.

Tip: If you are basing the eviction on complaints of other residents of your building ask them to give it to you in writing. Although a letter without the personal testimony of the writer is not admissible in court, most court commissioners will consider it in making their decision. You would only have to produce your witness if they appeal the commissioners decision to a circuit court judge.

Potential Problem: You can not use a fourteen day notice to evict a tenant who is disruptive in the neighborhood but causes no problems at your property.

Potential Problem: You cannot use a 5-Day Breach Notice with a month to month tenancy, rather you must use the 14-Day Notice.  While the 14-Day notice does not permit the tenant to “cure” (resolve the problem and stay) an owner certainly can agree to vacate the notice if the tenant takes care of the problem.

Tip: You may use a Twenty-Eight Day notice in a month-to-month tenancy to evict without cause. In a case where you might consider using a Fourteen-Day Notice, but do not want to have the burden of proof problem, such as bringing witnesses to court etc., use a Twenty-Eight Day notice. With a Twenty-Eight Day notice you never have to, nor should you, explain why. Just tell them they have to be out at the end of the month and if they are not out, you will go to court to have the Sheriff move them.

Tip: Want to move them faster than 28 days? One method is to serve them a Five-Day Notice early morning on the second of the month along with a Twenty-Eight Day notice. Explain to them that even if they pay, they will be evicted. Suggest they use the money they were going to give you to find a new residence. Typically they will not pay the rent and you can evict for nonpayment

Potential Problem: You cannot use a fourteen-day notice to evict a tenant who is disruptive in the neighborhood but causes no problems at your property unless you have strong lease language to support it.

Eviction – Lease Violation -Year Leases:

If the tenant is on a year lease you must give them a Five-Day Notice for the first breach during any lease term. If they “cure” the breach, they are entitled to stay. You may use the Fourteen Day notice without right to cure for the second breach within the years lease term.

Potential Problem: The owner has the burden of proving the lease violation. If the tenant goes to court to contest the eviction action you must be prepared to offer proof such as photos, police reports, or witnesses. Simply repeating a complaint that another tenant gave you is not “admissible” as evidence. Typically, problem tenants do not come to court to contest the eviction because they know they are trouble.

Tip: If you are basing the eviction on complaints of other residents of your building ask them to give it to you in writing. Although a letter, without the personal testimony of the writer, is not admissible in court, most court commissioners will consider it in making their decision. You would only have to produce your witness if they appeal the commissioners decision to a circuit court judge.

Potential Problem: You cannot use a 5-Day or 14-day notice to evict a tenant who is disruptive in the neighborhood but causes no problems at your property unless you have strong lease language to support it.

Eviction – Drug / Gang Activity:

If you receive a “drug house letter” from the police, you may use a special 5-day notice for drug activity, which requires the tenant to vacate within Five-Days. Sample 5-Day Notice- Drug Related This does not mean they will vacate, just that they should.

Potential Problem: A standard 5-day notice does not contain the required language – use the special 5-Day Notice- Drug Related for these cases.

Potential Problem: Drug dealers are not nice people. Some even carry guns. (Would make a helluva bumper sticker)

Tip: Tell the drug dealer the police are requiring you to evict them. Let them know the problem is between them and the police, not you. Tell them if they can get the police to send you a letter stating that they are not drug dealers you will cancel the eviction. Do not let them know you feel they are the most contemptible beings on the face of this planet.

Eviction – Other Causes:

If you simply don’t want to rent to a particular tenant anymore and you use a typical month-to-month tenancy – serve them with a 28 Day notice. If your rental agreement has a longer notice period serve the tenant with a notice that is consistent with the notice period required in the agreement. For tenants on a one-year lease your only option if they are current on their rent and have not violated the lease is to not renewal the lease when it expires.

Tip: Rather than evicting you can give the tenant a significant rent increase. That may cause them to move on their own, saving you the cost and aggravation of forcing them to move.

Potential Problem: While you are certainly free to get rid of the annoying man in apartment 107, you can run into real problems if you do so within six months of him reporting you to the building inspector. This only applies to termination without cause. If the tenant owes rent or is selling drugs, by all means evict them. This same caution applies to rent increases or reduction in services.

Potential Problem: Property owners can find themselves in trouble for violating fair housing laws by evicting tenants simply because they are members of a protected class. You can read more on this in our Owners Guide to Renting, Tenant Screening, Selection and Fair Housing.

DIY Eviction Series:

• Overview
• Select the Proper Notice