How to Serve an Eviction Notice
Landlords decide to take eviction actions against their tenants for various reasons. These can range from non-payment of rent, damage to property, being a nuisance especially to other neighbors, breaking the terms of a lease or remaining in the property after the lease term has expired. The length of time to complete an eviction varies by state, depending on local real estate laws. However most states have tenants rights and it can take a few weeks or up to three months to complete an eviction. An eviction requires court action and a landlord cannot evict a tenant without a court order.
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Instructions
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Notify the tenant appropriately. The first thing to do if an eviction is required is to notify the tenant of the problem with a set date of when the problem should be taken care of or the property vacated, otherwise the eviction process will proceed.
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File a complaint in civil court. If by the date stated in the initial notice the tenant has not solved the issue such as paid all rents owed or vacated the property, the next step is to file a complaint in civil court. Some jurisdictions have a standard form for this. You can also employ the services of a real estate lawyer.
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Wait for the tenant to respond. Now that the issue is in court, the tenant will be served papers notifying him of your pending suit and will be given a few days to respond.
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You may need to prepare for a trial. If the tenant decides to contest the eviction, there may be a trial and this will take some more time for a court date to be scheduled depending on how full the court's docket is.
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Wait for the tenant to leave of have him forcibly removed. If the tenant fails to respond to your suit or was found to be at fault during the trial, the court will give him an eviction order with a set date to vacate the property. The tenant will be served the court-ordered eviction notice usually by the Sheriff's department. If the tenant does not leave by the set date you can hire the Sheriff's department to have him forcibly removed.
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