Can My Landlord Evict Me During My Bankruptcy?
Bankruptcy puts an automatic stay in place on your debts and any litigation regarding your debts. Bankruptcy can affect your rental relationship with your landlord, dependent on a number of factors. In some cases the landlord may not even need to know you have filed bankruptcy, while in other cases the bankruptcy has a large impact on the rental relationship.
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Considerations
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The only reason that a bankruptcy filing would not stop an eviction is if the eviction judgment was already granted to the landlord. Bankruptcy bars the landlord from giving you a termination notice, filing for an eviction or proceeding with an eviction case in progress.
Misconceptions
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The implementation of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention Consumer Protection Act prevents bankruptcy filings from being used to stop an eviction judgment from being carried out. The automatic stay that the tenant gains from the bankruptcy filing does not apply to debts incurred after the filing, so the tenant must stay current on his rental payments.
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Legality
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The landlord is unable to proceed with the eviction filing during an automatic stay because it would be considered collecting on a debt, which is not allowed during a stay. The landlord has to file a motion in bankruptcy court to proceed with his own eviction case or to file the eviction at all.
Time Frame
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The amount of time that a bankruptcy holds off an eviction lawsuit depends on how quickly your landlord files a motion in bankruptcy court and when the bankruptcy court addresses the motion. Bankruptcy courts generally grant the landlord's motion within a few days of receiving it.
Remedy
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You can avoid eviction during a bankruptcy by keeping your rent payments up to date and making arrangements to pay any late rent. If the landlord is actively seeking to evict you from his rental unit, then filing for bankruptcy does not give you a lot of extra time.
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