Federal Eviction Information
While landlord and tenant issues are normally a matter for state and local law, federal law does provide tenants with some defenses against eviction. These include military service, fair housing laws and the fact that one's landlord lost the property to foreclosure.
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Eviction
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In an eviction, a tenant is given a court order to leave his home, and the home is once again placed under the control of the landlord. While the grounds and procedures for eviction can vary from state to state, all states require that a judge order the eviction and that the sheriff enforce it. Landlords cannot evict tenants without going to court and cannot physically remove a tenant or the tenant's personal property on their own.
Military Tenants
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If a member of the military is unable to pay rent due to her military service, and her monthly rent is under $2,720.95 (in 2009, this number can be adjusted for inflation) the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act allows the judge to grant the service member and her dependents a delay of up to 90 days, or as long as the judge sees fit, during which time the servicemember and her family can remain in their home.
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Foreclosure
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The Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) gives federal protection to a renter whose landlord lost their property to foreclosure. Under the PTFA, the new building owner is obligated to honor the leases of current tenants, and must give tenants without a lease at least 90 days notice that their rental agreement will not be renewed.
Fair Housing Law
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Federal fair housing law prevents landlords from denying housing (and this includes eviction) to tenants based on their religion, nationality, race, age, gender, disability or family status.
Reasonable Accommodation
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One aspect of federal fair housing law is the requirement that landlords make reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of their disabled tenants, even if the accommodation would ordinarily violate the landlord's policies. For example, if a disabled tenant has a service animal and can document that the service animal is necessary for her health and welfare, a landlord may not be able to evict her even if he has a "no pets" rule.
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References
- Photo Credit apartment lease sign image by Aaron Kohr from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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How about eviction if you have horses.
