Mandy Landlord vs Penny Tenant Summary of a Typical Eviction

Mandy Landlord vs Penny Tenant Summary of a Typical Eviction Procedure

If you've ever been through the eviction process as a landlord, you know just how time-consuming, complex, and expensive it can be. Further complicating matters is the discrepancies between each state's landlord-tenant laws, which all outline different eviction procedures. That all being said, there are certain common themes between most states, so here's how a typical eviction procedure looks from a landlord's perspective.

Step 1: Serving an Eviction Notice on the Tenant Penny the Tenant owes Mandy the Landlord $825 every month on the first, and her rental agreement has a grace period of five additional days, during which the rent is not considered late. On the sixth day of the month, Tenant Penny hasn't paid, so Mandy Landlord serves her (often through certified mail or in person) with an official Notice to Pay Rent or Quit. These Notices vary from state to state, but what they have in common is that they notify the tenant, in no uncertain terms, that if they don't pay the rent owed within X number of days, they will face eviction. Note: make sure you use state-specific somekeyword!


Alternatively, maybe Penny isn't late on her rent, but rather has violated the rental agreement, say by keeping a massive baby-eating wolf-hound in her apartment, when the rental agreement expressly states that she may not keep pets. Likewise, when Mandy discovers this, she will serve Penny with a Notice to Cure or Vacate, which also varies state to state, and also gives Penny a certain amount of time to cure the violation. As a note to any soft-hearted landlords: even if you intend to work something out with your tenants, still send them these eviction forms. It will put you in a better negotiating position to demand more rent, or a greater security deposit to cover damages, etc.

Step 2: File an Eviction Complaint in Rent Court Penny's second grace period (from the Notice) is now up, and she still hasn't paid rent, tisk tisk. Mandy goes to the courthouse and files an official Eviction Complaint (landlords beware: these are often county-specific!), so that the court can schedule a hearing. As a final note, you may also have to send a copy by certified mail to your tenant, depending on your state.

Step 3: The Eviction Hearing in Rent Court After waiting six hours in rent court, the judge finally calls Mandy's case, and she and Penny stand up and spill out their sides to the story. Mandy must show up or send an agent in her stead (such as an attorney or eviction specialist), but often the tenants (knowing they've violated the rental agreement) will not bother showing up for the hearing. Provided that Mandy wins the right to evict, the case is then sent from the court to the sheriff's office, to schedule a put-out date.

Step 4: The Actual Eviction The sheriff will set a date and time for the actual put-out, for which Mandy Landlord (or her agent) must be present. Being a seasoned landlord, she knows that she'll need contractors and/or handymen on the scene as well, to remove any abandoned/remaining personal property, change the locks, and start cleaning the place up for the next somekeyword. Note: some states or counties have strict requirements regulating how a landlord disposes of tenants' belongings.

Penny's gone, and now Mandy can go in and make any necessary or overdue repairs on the property, which might help land her a better tenant for the next rental agreement. All landlords should either hire an eviction specialist to handle evictions for them, or they should look into their state's eviction forms and laws, and with luck (and good tenant screening), they won't have to go through the eviction process very often.