What is eviction?
Eviction is a legal process by which a homeowner can be asked to leave the house after it is foreclosed. If the homeowner or his family members does not leave voluntarily, they can be forced out of the house and the new homeowner will have the right to do whatever he wishes with the contents of the house.

What are the laws related to eviction?
Laws that guide eviction procedure varies from state to state. However, in all the states, it is mandatory to serve the defaulter with an eviction notice before the actual foreclosure eviction takes place. So when you are served with a notice, you must check the deadline mentioned on it. Generally, the deadline is 3 to 5 days from the day of its issue. It is better to leave the house by the specified date. But before doing this, you must find out if your state allows a redemption period to enable you stay in the house before the actual eviction takes place.

What is right to redemption?
In some of the states, homeowners have a right to redemption. With the right to redemption, homeowners can reclaim their home during or after foreclosure by paying the outstanding mortgage balance along with the cost incurred by the lender due to foreclosure. So, if your financial situation improves during the redemption period, you can take advantage of this right and get back your property. The redemption period differs with states and is generally around 3 to 12 months.

However, if you are unable to reclaim your house and do not have any other shelter, you can seek help from your county housing authority.

I get this question often.  Usually it is from a landlord that is frustrated because a tenant is always paying their rent late.  Lots of landlords wait until the 28th to finally do something about it and then want to file an eviction.  Here are some tips to fix the problem or get the tenant out:

• Next month, file the eviction immediately when the tenant is late (typically on the 6th) with no warnings.  The tenant is responsible for paying you rent.  You are not required to chase them down for it.  This should either catch them off guard not prepared to pay you and they will need to move out, or they hopefully will get the point that you are serious and start to at least attempt to pay on time.
• Even if the tenant pays up after they receive the eviction notices, they are still responsible for all the late fees and eviction court costs.  Don’t let them get out of that!  I used to have a tenant that always paid late, but  about a day or so before I was going to file the eviction.  Consequently her rent was essentially $50 higher than it should be.  Every month!
• Stop by their place on first of the month looking for the rent.  In fact, I know several landlords that simply come around on the 1st of the month and personally collect the rent.  Then there is never an excuse that the check is in the mail.

Once the tenant sees you are serious and you still want to get rid of them, see if you can come to an agreement for them to move out the following month peacefully. Just part ways friendly.  Otherwise, most tenants that have trouble paying will eventually slip up and not be able to pay and then they will get evicted.

• Filing the eviction with the county=$320 (Hennepin County ads $2 for additional fees to support the large number of Minneapolis evictions).
• Process server can charge from $50-$100 to serve the eviction notices, depending upon the number of tenants, the distance to serve the paperwork and if they need to make multiple trips.
• An eviction attorney will often charge $200-400 to put all the paperwork together for you and attend court.
• Foreclosure evictions can cost additional amounts depending upon the details.

Once the court date has occurred, if you need to get the Writ of Recovery, which allows you to have the tenant removed by the sheriff, that can vary by county.

• Hennepin County charges $50 to process the writ and the Hennepin County Sheriff charges $100 to serve the writ and then do the eviction (you must be present to change the locks).
• Ramsey county charges $55 to process the write and then the Ramsey County Sheriff charges $300 to serve the writ and do the eviction.
• Other counties have various charges.
• Remember that if anything is left by the tenant, you may need to store the tenant’s property.

Remember that you should be including these costs in the amount owed by the tenant.  The court will allow you to charge the tenant for most of these.

Many of the investment real estate urban legends surround evicting tenants. Most try to tell the listener how hard it is to get the tenant to leave the property. I would bet some of those stories actually keep people from buying investment property! This next tale was not as outlandish as the fish story, so I figured it may have some truth to it.

I heard it from a seasoned landlord who heard it from someone else. The summary of the story was that a landlord had allowed a tenant to pay their rent late every month, but eventually decided to evict the tenant when they were late the next month (per the lease). The tenant took the landlord to court claiming the landlord had always accepted the late rent and therefore, what was different the month he finally decided to evict her? In other words, the landlord had set a precedent of allowing late rent payments.

This story sounded plausible, (probably because anyone can sue for anything), but I figured no tenant would go through the legal work or be smart enough to come up with that argument in front of a judge. Hold onto your UFO books and big foot videos, this actually happened in Wisconsin! Read the full Court of Appeals Decision from 2002. The tenant in the case had paid her rent at least 10 days late for the last 2 years, thereby setting a pattern and precedent. The landlord finally decided to evict her because he had not received the rent on the lease-specified due date and the court eventually overturned the eviction stating that “A pattern of late rent payments can operate to change the time the rent is due”.

The moral of the story is to read your leases and evict your tenants in a timely manner. Alternatively, I would at least recommend updating the lease to reflect the updated/later due date and/or send the tenant a letter periodically stating that although you are accepting the rent payment late, the due date is specified on the lease, and you are not waiving your right to evict a tenant if they do not pay by the due date.

1. Once the eviction process has started, do not accept any partial payment from the tenant. Doing so can stop the eviction process by the judge claiming you have accepted that amount as payment. You will be out the court costs and will need to start the process over again!
2. Often the eviction will take 2-3 weeks and will run into the next calendar month. If the tenant pays the past due amount, insure that the now current month is also going to be covered on the eviction.
3. An alternative to having the tenant move out if they are unable to pay is to have the tenant agree to a payment plan that is approved by the the eviction judge. As the landlord, you retain all of your rights and if the tenant misses one payment, you can immediately issue the writ and have them forcibly removed without going back to court.

Tenant evictions is not a difficult process. It just takes planning and and understanding of the process.   Consider using the Eviction Attorney that I recommend.

The rights and duties of landlords and tenants in each state are spelled out in federal law, state statutes, local ordinances, safety and housing codes, common law, contract law and a number of court decisions. These responsibilities can vary from place to place around the country and even within each state and municipality. Also, tenants in federal housing and other forms of subsidized housing have additional rights under federal law. Consequently, this article is specific to eviction in Minnesota and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. My goal is that readers from other areas can still use this article as a framework to make the process easier.

Why to evict:
Typically, evictions happen because a tenant is behind in their rent or has stopped paying their rent all together, but any violation of the lease can actually be grounds for an eviction. As a landlord, you need to understand the language in your lease and your legal regulations. Some examples of lease violations that I have evicted tenants for include: repeated incidents of disturbing the neighbors, excessive damage to the apartment, excessive police calls, unauthorized pets, and unauthorized people staying in the apartment.

When to evict (for other lease violations):
Evicting for lease violations (other than past due rent) requires good documentation and proper notification of the tenant to put yourself in the best position to win the eviction when going to court. You should document in writing each time the lease is violated. Make sure to note the exact details of who was involved. Follow up each lease violation with a written warning to the tenant (keeping a copy for yourself). Make sure to quote the section of the lease that was violated and inform them that any repeated violations can lead to their eviction. If the violation is severe enough you may need to immediately start the eviction process, after you have collected the documentation, without issuing a warning.

When to evict (for past due rent):
As a new landlord, it is very easy to listen to the sob story about why a tenant can’t pay their rent and before you know it, they can become several month behind in their rent. Ultimately, most books and “experts” will say, start the eviction process the first day after the rent is late. I would argue that in the real world, it rarely happens that way. I am not suggesting that you let a tenant pay whenever they want, but you should do what you feel is fair. I have many tenants that consistently pay their rent late, but they do pay and include a late fee. You need to decide what your tolerance is and when you are going to cut off a tenant. Set that date in stone and stick to it.  One additional thought, see my post:  Can’t Evict if Always Late on Rent.

Time to evict (in MN):
Although you can file all the necessary paperwork and go to court yourself, I am strong proponent of paying an attorney to perform the eviction for several reasons:

• The costs for many of these services is less than what I value my time at ($195 for the Eviction Attorney that I use). I simply fill out a 3 page document, sign it, and pay with a credit card. The Attorney calls me to review the file and then again when the court date has been scheduled and they call me after court is over to tell me the results. I do nothing else.
• The process may require multiple trips to the court and waiting at the court for your case to be called. If you have a full-time career, do you want to take time off to attend an eviction proceeding?
• Several steps in the process require a neutral 3rd party such as serving the eviction notice. If these are not done correctly, the court can throw out your eviction action. You have lost time (and more money, including the filing fee).
• Lastly, these services perform hundreds and even thousands of evictions per year. They can be an invaluable resource if you have questions about the process. You may even consult with them to see if you can evict a tenant in a specific situation.

Regardless if you handle the eviction or you pay a service, the process generally works like this (in Hennepin County in MN):

• The court has you fill out some short paperwork explaining why you are requesting the eviction. You will pay a filing and process fee ($342 in Hennepin County).
• The court clerk will assign you a court date (typically 2-3 weeks out in Hennepin County).
• A neutral 3rd party must serve the tenant with a notice regarding the court date and why they are being evicted. If the tenant is not home or refuses to answer the door, the notice can be secured to the primary door.
• On the day of court, several scenarios can play out:
  • Both the landlord and the tenant will be given an opportunity to explain their side.
  • If the tenant owes past due rent, the judge will ask them if they are prepared to pay. Sometimes the judge will allow the tenant a week to come up with the money, but most often the judge will side with the landlord as s/he recognizes that the tenant has had plenty of time to work out a payment plan or find other sources for the rent.
  • If the tenant is claiming to be holding the past due rent because of repairs that the landlord has refused to perform, the judge will often make the tenant give that rent money to the court to hold until the work is performed. Typically, the tenant is just trying to use this as a delay tactic and can not produce the money.
  • When the eviction is for lease violations, other than past due rent, the judge will issue a ruling based upon the evidence presented. Again, having excellent documentation can help you prevail.
  • If only one side shows at the court hearing, the judge will always rule in favor of that party. In my experience, only about 50% of the tenants will attend the hearing. Most will already have moved out by this date as they know they are going to lose in court and be required to move immediately.
• Typically the hearing is over very quickly and the judge will make a decision on the spot.
• If the judge rules in favor of the landlord: You can choose to enter into a payment plan with the tenant for any past due rent and allow them to stay in the apartment provided they honor the plan. OR You can file for a “Writ of Eviction” (in MN) which requires the sheriff to serve a notice on the tenant notifying them that they have 24 hours to vacate the property (there is an extra cost for this-$95).
• After the Writ has been issued, you have up to 30 days to schedule the sheriff to come to the apartment and have the tenant forcibly removed. In my experience, it rarely gets to this point. If a tenant loses in court, they are usually moving immediately as they don’t want to be removed from their apartment and locked out.
• Once removed by the sheriff, the tenant can be arrested for trespassing if they enter the building or apartment again.
• If the tenant leaves anything in the apartment after they vacate, you are required to store those belongings for 60 days before disposing of them as you like. You can charge the tenant to store the belongings, but you can not hold the belongings ransom to them paying the past due rent.

Other tips when going through an eviction:

• Sometimes it may be easier to threaten an eviction and have the tenant move out peacefully and quickly. This will save you time and the possibility that they will damage the apartment on the way out.
• Because it is difficult to accurately know when the apartment will again be available (or what condition it will be in), you should give yourself enough time after the eviction before releasing the unit.

The entire process can be intimidating, but it is a necessary part of being a landlord. It is always better to cut your losses, go through the process, and find a better tenant.

I have been burned at least twice by this little trick that tenants play:

• Tenant short pays you on the 2nd to last month of the lease or does not pay you on the last month of the lease.
• You call them and either they do not return your calls or they claim they are going to pay you.
• They never do.
• The tenant moves out owing you at least last month’s rent.

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein

Often the tenant will owe you more than just last month.  Plus unless the apartment is spotless, they may have some cleaning charges also.  Typically the tenant is using your rent to put money down as a deposit on their new apartment.

Although my new approach can backfire and cost you money (the eviction fees-if the tenant skips town), it will give you some leverage and/or at least satisfaction.  If the tenant has a history of late payments going into the last month of the lease or I have any reason to suspect the property will require significant cleaning/repairs, I will get the tenant eviction started on the first day the rent is late.  This gives me the opportunity to possibly jamb up their future plans at their new apartment (satisfaction).  Best case is they pay me what they owe me.

Either way, it is better than getting pushed around or lied to.

• As I have mentioned before, do NOT accept any partial payment between the date you file the Minnesota eviction and the court date.  The judge could throw out your case and make you refile (and you are out the eviction fee).
• Even if the tenant says they want to set up a payment plan, follow through on the eviction proceeding so you have that on their record.  Then if they miss a payment, you only need to get a Writ and they can be out in 48 hours.  Plus, it will make it harder for them to move-out in the middle of the night to a new apartment with that eviction on their record.
• If they ask for a payment plan prior to the eviction, tell them to bring at least the filing fee amount or preferably $500 to the court hearing before you will consider a payment plan.
• Set the payment plan up for weekly or bi-weekly payments starting immediately.  I have made the mistake of allowing the tenant to wait 2 weeks to pay their first installment and then it never comes.  I inevitably need to have the sheriff to evict them, but I have lost 2 more weeks of non-payment.
• Make sure the payments are in the form of a cashier’s check, money order, or cash.  You don’t want to accept a check and find out 2 weeks later that it was NSF.

These are just some small tips (that I have unfortunately learned the hard way) on how to work through setting up a payment plan with a past-due tenant.