Eviction laws are different in every city and state. We are not attorneys, but we do provide property management in Cleveland, and we want to talk to you about how to evict a tenant in this market. It’s always a good idea to get legal advice before you move forward with your eviction.
Three Day Notices
Most landlords evict for nonpayment of rent. In these circumstances, the first eviction notice you’ll serve is a Thee Day Notice. You must give your tenants three days to pay the overdue rent or move out of the property. The days do not include the day you serve the notice or the last day of the notice period. So, it’s actually five days before you can move forward to file the eviction. Our best advice is this: if you file a Three Day Notice on a Monday, wait until the following Monday to file the eviction. That leaves you plenty of time to be compliant with the court.
Requesting a Court Date
After the appropriate amount of time, you’ll fill out the next eviction notice. This asks for a court date to get your tenant to move out. After you have served the Three Day Notice, it’s very important that you don’t accept any money. If you plan on going through with the eviction, don’t even take a penny from your tenant. You also need to know that if you own the property in your name, you can do the eviction yourself. If you hold it in trust or through an LLC or another corporation, you must use an attorney. When the property is owned by a company, only an attorney can represent it.
Court Process
During court, the judge will ask you questions. You’ll need to state whether you have accepted any rent, and you’ll need to provide a copy of your lease. The judge will decide who is wrong or rig
ht. As long as your paperwork is correct and you have all your ducks in a row, you’ll receive a Writ of Restitution, which means you’ll receive your property back. After that day in court, it takes about 10 days for the bailiff to go to the property. The tenants have to be out at that point, and if they aren’t, the bailiff will ask them to move. You’ll then have to remove any of the tenants’ belongings from the home.
If you have any questions about how to evict a tenant, or you’d like to hear more about Cleveland property management, please contact us at Sandstone Realty.