Now let’s get to some of your Eviction Questions:

Now let’s get to some of your Eviction Questions: 

Do I need a Lawyer to file the Eviction,. 

How Landlords can file there own Eviction. 

The Eviction Process.

What are the Landlord & Tenant Laws in my State.

How much will an Eviction Cost.

What Forms are needed.

As Landlords ourselves, We had to go back and forth from one site to another to find all the information about owning property and dealing with Tenants. We could not find one website that had the required information in one place.  So We started NationalEvictions.com to help the many Landlords and Tenants with Everything needed for Evictions. We added Directories to help Clients find the Top Companies in Every State!

1. Do I need a Lawyer to file the Eviction ?

If you choose to hire a Lawyer in your State, You can find one on our Directory of Eviction Lawyers on our National Directory. Please Choose your State then your County and Lawyers in that County are available to help you with your Eviction.

*Landlords can Serve the 3, 7, 15, and 30-Day Notice’s to the Tenant. They can also file an Eviction if they wish. You will have to wait as to the type of notice given to the Tenant. They can File the Eviction on there Own. This is called “Pro Se”.  You as a Landlord can Do your own Eviction Just follow the Process for an Eviction in your State. Corporations should hire a Law Firm for Evictions.

2. What are the Landlord & Tenant Laws in my State ?

      All Landlords should read the Laws in the State your property is located in, below you will find the links to the Laws & State Statutes in the every State in the US. 

Each State has Separate Sections for Landlord & Tenant Laws. The best place that we found for all of the Information is by Going Directly to The State’s Web Sites.

This is The Official Websites linked to each States Laws for Landlord/Tenants, Property, Real Estate Laws in every State.

3. How do Landlords File their Own Evictions ?

First: You will need to serve the Tenant with some kind of Notice to Quit. (if you serve the Tenant 7, 15 or 30 day notice you must wait that amount of days as per your notice before you can file an Eviction. Give the Tenant the number of days (Excluding weekends and Holidays). Please keep a Copy of this notice you will need this when you file the Eviction with the County Clerks Office.

Secondly: You will need all the Forms for the Eviction, You can buy all the Official Court Forms, Download them and save them to your computer, Fill in all of your information then save them and use over and over again.

Find Forms to Start and File Evictions:  Download the Required Forms for an Eviction

4. Where do i File the Eviction in my County ?

Fill out all the Forms and bring them to the County Clerks office in your State/County, for a list of the Clerks office that is closest to you can find them on our Directory of Clerks offices and Courthouse locations:

Directory of County Clerk of Courts Locations in your State. – At the Clerk’s Offices Landlords can Pay the Clerk the Eviction Filing Fees and Then have the official court documents served to the Tenant(s).

*It is our Suggestion to have these Court Documents Served to the Tenant using a Private Process Serving Company in your State. You can find a company to serve the Official Court forms to the Tenant(s) on our National Directory of Process Servers  On our Directory find a Process Server to Serve the Summons & Complaint to the Tenant. A Private Process Server will make more attempts to Serve the Official Court Documents to the Tenant and give to you the Return of Service Paperwork which you can bring to the courts showing Service has been properly completed in the eviction case.  When you are filing the Default Paperwork or Filing for Damages on the Tenant. The Return of Service in an important Document.

Next: After you have the Tenant Served, You must wait the Required number of days not including Weekends & Holidays in your State, (usually 5 days) 2 things can happen.  The Tenant Files an Answer to the Eviction or the Tenant does not file anything.

You will be notified from the Courts as to the Date of the Court Case and you will receive a copy of the reply from the Tenant in the Mail, to the Address that you listed on the Summons. Bring all your Proof with you when you have the Hearing.

*Tenant May File for a Hearing for Rent Determination Stating that they think that they don’t owe this amount? to the Landlord. Either way Make sure that you bring all of your Records, Proof with you to show the Judge how much Rent that is owed. ( and pleas make sure if you are a Landlord or property manager you always give a receipt to the tenant when they pay you any part of the rent, note: date, time and amounts collected and keep your copy)

If the Tenant does not File any Answer to the Courts within the number of Days allowed in your State via the Eviction after being served, You can bring to the Clerk of Courts the Default Paperwork and Ask to get the Default on the Tenant and Ask the Judges to issue a Writ of Possession (sometimes called the 24Hr Notice) thus getting them out and giving you the Apartment Back in your control.

LANDLORDS:   DO BACKGROUND CHECKS ON NEW TENANTS, CHECK WITH THE COUNTY CLERKS OFFICE IN YOUR COUNTY ( SEE IF THEY EVER HAD AN EVICTION BEFORE YOU RENT TO THEM), TAKE PICS OF UNIT BEFORE YOU RENT IT TO ANY TENANT, THIS WILL HELP LATER IF A TENANT HAS ANY QUESTIONS WHEN THEY LEAVE A UNIT ex: THIS WAS PREEXISTING YOU CAN SHOW WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE BEFORE YOU RENTED IT TO THEM.

NationalEvictions.com maintains the highest level of legal information and by vetting top companies that become part of the National Eviction Network,  Our goals are to aid Property Owners and Landlords throughout the United States with Serving the Notice to Quit, Filing of Eviction Official Court Forms and Serving the Eviction Documents to the Tenants.

NATIONALEVICTIONS.COM

Landlord harassment and examples of tenant harassment., how to remedy the situation.

Landlord harassment and examples of tenant harassment

Landlord harassment is when the landlord creates conditions that are designed to encourage the tenant to break the lease agreement or otherwise abandon the rental property that he or she is currently occupying. Landlord harassment is a specific set of behaviors that the law recognizes and landlords can be punished for this kind of activity.

While sometimes it is hard to prove landlord harassment, more and more courts are recognizing this kind of behavior and imposing the appropriate legal penalties when the issues are brought to court.

10 Examples of Landlord Harassment

1. Failing to perform maintenance tasks in a timely and responsible manner
2. Withholding amenities that were previously allowed, such as pool privileges or landscaping services
3. Notices of improper conduct that are made up or exaggerated
4. Notices of improper conduct that single out the tenant while violations from other tenants are ignored
5. Refusing to accept or otherwise acknowledge proper payment of rent
6. Entering the property without just cause or proper notice, often repeatedly
7. Creating a nuisance (like loud noise or throwing trash) that disrupts the tenant’s ability to quietly enjoy the rental unit
8. Deliberate destruction of tenant’s property
9. Threats of financial injury, such as reporting to a credit bureau or refusing to provide positive references to future landlords
10. Physical intimidation and threats of physical violence

Landlord harassment often happens when landlords feel like they cannot wait for proper methods to raise the rent or not renew lease agreements. Many cases happen where landlords want to get rid of current, lower rent tenants in favor of higher paying newer tenants.

Landlords who resort to these actions are often trying to avoid the expense of eviction and the hassle of removing a tenant in the proper, legal way.

Even if the tenant is violating the lease agreement or the landlord has decided not to renew the lease agreement when it expires, there is no excuse and no valid reason for landlords to harass tenants.

Examples of Tenant Harassing Landlord:

1. Tenant refuses to pay rent citing repair issues
2. The landlord constantly receives noise complaints about the tenant
3. The tenant sends threatening emails or texts to the landlord
4. The tenant pays rent in large amounts of change
5. The landlord goes through the proper procedures to raise rent and the tenant refuses to pay or leave the rental
6. The tenant violates the warranty of habitability of other tenants
7. The tenant shows up at the landlords home
8. A tenant assaults the landlord
9. The tenant refuses to follow parking guidelines
10. The tenant claims to have sent cash by mail for the rent and refuses to pay rent now

Landlord Retaliation

Another aspect of landlord harassment happens when the tenant has complained about the landlord to the building owner, an apartment association or government agency.

It’s called landlord retaliation and is recognized by the law as behavior designed to punish a tenant for properly filing a valid complaint or organizing or joining a tenant union or similar group. Tenants can also be protected from vengeful landlords if they properly withhold money from rent for repairs based on their state’s laws.

If the tenant has issued a complaint about something a landlord has done or has not done, some landlords may feel offended or angry and set out to punish the tenant. In addition to the behaviors described previously, landlords often retaliate by starting the eviction process, raising the rent or changing something about the terms of tenancy.

Other retaliatory acts might include restricting or decreasing services. Although these things are perfectly acceptable for landlords to do when there are no issues between them and the tenant, they can be seen as an act of retaliation when performed soon after a tenant complaint.

The courts automatically recognize such action taken by a landlord (typically within six months) after tenant action as retaliation. Therefore, if the tenant complains, the burden of proof is up to the landlord to show that their actions are not in retaliation for what the tenant has done.

The landlord would need to convince the court that they would have taken that action (raise the rent, not renewed the lease agreement, etc.) regardless of what the tenant’s actions were. If the action takes place some time and distance away from the tenant’s protected action, it can still be proved to be retaliation but the burden of proof shifts to the tenant.

What to do if landlord is harassing tenant?

In most cities there is usually an organization that represents tenants and their rights. A quick local Google search should reveal if this is the case in your area.

Services like these are a good step if normal remediation techniques are not working or the tenant or landlord is being abusive.

The Bottom Line

It’s against the law to use intimidation, coercion or harassment to attempt to get a tenant to vacate a rental property. It’s also against the law to punish a tenant for a protected action.

To protect themselves from accusations, it’s important for landlords to keep copies of all notices, letters, rental agreements, and more. It’s also a good idea to write down summaries of phone conversations, note witnesses to conversations and otherwise document questionable actions.

For example, if a tenant makes a complaint to a government agency and the landlord was planning on raising everyone’s rent a few months later, he or she should document that all rents were raised, not just the particular tenant’s rent.

Recognizing what kind of actions and behavior could constitute harassment is a critical component for landlords to understand in successfully managing a rental property. Avoiding harassment, even if unintentional, is the best way to deal with tenants and landlords should instead choose the proper, legal methods to manage their rentals.