A landlord cannot change the lock, or cease services to their tenant, such as electricity, heat, water, even if you followed the eviction process to the ‘T’ as mandated by your state’s laws.
Several reasons a landlord can state in the eviction notice served are: non-payment of rent; violation(s) of the lease, i.e. if there was a no pet clause in the lease and a short time after residing in the dwelling, the tenant brings in a dog; if there are more occupants residing in the premises than the lease allows for; damages to the residence that haven’t been repaired.
Eviction notice periods can be anywhere from 20-90 days, though the average period is 30-60 days.
At the end of the eviction period, if said violations and/or payments had not been resolved, the landlord files the eviction with the courts.
This is the time a tenant would retain an attorney, if one wasn’t commissioned already, to build upon the tenant’s defense; to see if the landlord’s notice was adequate; to gather correspondences and any receipts by tenant to landlord. If the tenant has a valid defense and it goes to trial, the process here can take several months.
In the meantime, as a landlord, you still cannot change the lock or cease services to tenant’s residence, without being in violation yourself. The tenant will build time for defense, to protect his rights and his family’s. If you have problematic tenants and issues have not been resolved, and you need your rights, as landlord, protected, contact a qualified, experienced landlord tenant.
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