The eviction process can be stressful for both the tenant and landlord. After all, tenants do face losing their home, while conversely landlords are doing nothing more than enforcing the lease terms that were agreed upon when moving in.

In this article we’re going to explore what an unlawful detainer actually entails as well as a breakdown of the usual eviction process.

What Is An Eviction?

Essentially, an eviction is the legal process where a landlord can terminate the tenant’s right to continue renting the property. If the eviction gets to a certain point the landlord can forcibly remove the tenant from the property by a law enforcement official. However, moving forward with that actually requires a court order.

There are numerous reasons that could potentially lead to an eviction, however, an eviction usually occurs when the tenant has violated one of the originally agreed upon provisions in the lease agreement.

Some valid reasons for an eviction could potentially include: failure to pay rent or pay rent on time, criminal activity taking place in your place of residence or on the property, or even having pets that are not authorized on the lease agreement.

Overall, there are many reasons an eviction can occur. If you’re a landlord or a tenant it’s usually in your best interest to seek legal counsel as soon as possible.

In order to evict the tenant written documentation and reasonable notice must be provided. If the tenant doesn’t fix the problem, then a formal eviction notice must be filed with the court.

What Does The Unlawful Detainer Process Entail?

Essentially, an unlawful detainer is the legal way to evict someone from their place of residence, or business. The court proceedings will decide whether or not the landlord has the right to take back property from the defendant.

You can start the unlawful detainer process the moment the tenant-landlord relationship ends. This can occur through any of the reasons mentioned above, or when any of the following occurs:

• The tenant refuses to leave once the lease ends
• The tenant doesn’t move out after a month-to-month lease ends
• The tenant doesn’t pay rent and doesn’t move out after they’ve received a notice and fail to pay
• The tenant doesn’t want to move out after they break a portion of the lease agreement

The unlawful detainer process begins with the landlord filing a complaint with the local court. The tenant is then served the court documents. Once the initial steps have taken place a civil trial of this manner usually progresses pretty swiftly.

Our law firm has experienced both sides of the eviction and unlawful detainer process. We want to help our clients, whether they be landlords or tenants, make informed decisions about the legal process they’re currently facing.