As much difficult is the process to rent your property out, equally challenging is getting it evicted from tenants. Even if the tenant leaves the property after getting the first notice, it can still be a troublesome situation since most people leave a lot of junk behind when they leave a rental house. You can hire an eviction cleanout company in Vallejo CA to get rid of all the junk.
Coming back to tenant eviction, there’s a lot to know and do if you intend to get your property vacated. Read on to know more about tenant eviction:
Be Aware of Eviction Laws in Your State
You must know about eviction laws prevalent in the country you live in if you want tenants to vacate your property. Also, it should be noted that these laws vary from state to state. Therefore, knowing what’s applicable in your state is a good idea. Ideally, you should do this before renting your property out. However, it’s never too late. Getting as much information as you can pertaining to the tenant eviction process will help you avoid any sort of dispute with them.
Determine the Reasons for Eviction
As per the law, the landlord needs to provide a valid reason if they want to evict the tenant. Therefore, before you proceed further, determine the reason(s) for eviction. You can go through the tenancy agreement for this purpose. If the tenant is found guilty of not adhering to the agreement, it can prove to be a valid reason to ask them to vacate the property.
Some common reasons cited by landlords when getting their property evicted are:
- Property damage
- Failing to pay rent for consecutive months
- Consistency late rent payment
- The use of the property for conducting illegal activities or activities not specified in the agreement. (e.g. using a residential property for commercial activities, etc.)
- Causing frequent disturbance to neighbors
- Subletting the property without obtaining the landlord’s approval
- Not vacating the property after the term of the contract has concluded
Make sure to document if there is any evidence of violations made by the tenant. This is important if you pursue the legal route. While doing this, be very thorough. Take pictures of the damage (if any) and other details for documentation purposes.
Issue an Eviction Notice
This is a mandatory step in which the tenant is officially informed that they have to vacate the property. This notice must be in a written form, otherwise, it wouldn’t be considered legal.
Generally, there are three types of eviction notices:
- Pay or Quit
- Cure or Quit
- Quit
In the former two notices, the tenant is notified to pay the outstanding rent or rectify the damage/violation they have caused to the property. If they can’t do this, they will have to quit the property. In the latter notice, the tenant doesn’t have to take any action but to vacate the property. There’s no second option for them in this case. However, a date is specified for them. They have to leave the property before that particular date.
In the case the renter doesn’t oblige the notice within the due date, the landlord reserves the right to go to file for eviction in their local housing court. This is a mandatory step. Also, bear in mind that you’ll have to provide the clerk at the court with the proper proof that the renter had received a notice and legal time to respond to it. After you have provided the same to them, a court date will be scheduled for you.
On the hearing date, the attorney will show all the necessary proofs on your behalf. And on the basis of hearing arguments from both sides, the judge will announce their decision. If there was outstanding rent, you can file a lawsuit to claim it.
Junk Removal
Now the important question arises, what to do with the belonging left by the tenant on your property. This depends on your state laws. Some states require the landlord to store the belongings, while others allow them to discard them. You can also donate the stuff. Or simply throw it away. Now, throwing all the junk may not be an environmentally friendly idea. You need to act as a responsible citizen; therefore, dispose of all the unnecessary items properly.
If you don’t have enough time to do so, hire a junk removal company that specializes in tenant cleanout services. You will find plenty of companies offering such service, but it’s recommended to opt for the best one, such as 3 Kings Hauling & More. It is one of the most reputable junk removal companies in the area.
