How to Win Against a Landlord's Eviction Notice

Even if you haven't always paid the rent on time, you can still fight your landlord's eviction notice. All it takes is asking the right people for advice and finding out about your rights as a tenant. Best of all, winning means you get to avoid the cost --- and headache --- of having to find another place to live.

Instructions

1. Define what "winning" means to you.There is more than one way out of an eviction notice, but you have to know your objectives. The question is, "What's the next best step for me?" Will you be satisfied if you can come to an agreement with the landlord and stay where you are? Or, do you just want to delay the eviction process until you have found another home or apartment?

2. Ask for help from a legal aid center or consumer affairs agency in your area. Both are great resources for tenants who want to know their rights. Both can explain the eviction process, the steps you should take once the landlord serves the notice, the laws that protect you --- and him, and what rights you give up if you don't respond. Use this advice to plan your next move.

3. Read the landlord-tenant laws in your state. Along with the facts of your case, these laws will determine who wins and who loses. First, find out whether the landlord has the legal right to evict you for the reasons he has chosen. Second, find out if he is following the eviction procedure required by law. Some states, for example, require that a landlord wait a certain amount of time after the lease violation before serving an eviction notice. If you can show that your landlord disregarded a major step, the court might deny his notice and force him to start the process from the beginning, which buys you needed time. Many landlords just assume that tenants are too scared or aren't savvy enough to check into the laws, so they feel free to cut corners.

4. Choose a legal defense, but make sure you have the facts necessary to prove it. For example, a law might stop a landlord from evicting a tenant who has kept pets on the premises only because the tenant has fulfilled every other requirement of the lease. However, that defense probably would not work for a tenant who has not only kept pets but hasn't paid the rent in months.

5. Appear in court with any witnesses or documents that support your argument. A judge will form an opinion of you based on how well you behave, so you should speak calmly when arguing your side. Rather than showing anger toward the landlord, make it seem as though you are only trying to resolve the matter.

References

• New Jersey Permanent Statutes Database: Grounds for Removal of Tenants
• New Jersey Permanent Statutes Database: Removal of Residential Tenants
• California Department of Consumer Affairs; The Eviction Process; 2010
• Law Info: How to Fight an Eviction
• LSNJ Law; Defenses to Eviction; 2010
• FindLaw: Defenses to Eviction; 2011

Resources

• FindLaw; Tenant Eviction: What You Should Know as a Renter; 2011