Tenants can be evicted for a variety of reasons. Non-payment of rent is the typical lease default which can result in eviction. There are also non-monetary defaults which can lead to eviction, such as criminal activity, breach of the peace, failure to upkeep the premises and other violations. When non-monetary defaults serve as the basis for eviction, strict notice requirements must be met by the landlord. If those requirements are not met, the eviction complaint can be dismissed. Both non-payment of rent and non-monetary lease defaults are filed in landlord-tenant court in the county where the property is located and eviction is obtained via court order.
Alternatively, how do you remove a non tenant, occupant, or squatter from your property? You may wonder how someone can be living in your property without permission. There are scenarios where a person once had legal possession, but circumstances changed. For example, a property owner may have allowed a friend to reside in the property, the owner since died, and the friend refuses to leave. Another scenario may be that you purchased a bank owned property through a foreclosure sheriff’s sale and the previous owners still live at the property and refuse to go. Homeless persons may have taken up permanent shelter in a vacant house. In these scenarios, law enforcement is unlikely to remove occupants. Typically, they will inform the owner that this is a “civil matter” and that you must obtain a “court order”. That court order must be obtained via an ejectment action.
The ejectment process is initiated by the filing of a complaint in the special civil part court (not landlord-tenant). Proof of ownership and unauthorized occupancy must be established in order to remove the squatter or non tenant from your property. If a judge approves an initial complaint filing, you must serve the unauthorized occupant with the paperwork and notice of the hearing. At the hearing, the Court may take testimony and decide the matter, or set the case down for further proceedings where there is more time for the parties to present their case. The ultimate goal is the same as the landlord/tenant eviction- obtaining possession and rightful uninterrupted use to the property owner.
When you need to remove property occupants, it is important to file the right type of case in the right court seeking the right relief. Otherwise, the court may dismiss your complaint and you will be required to refile which will cause additional fees, costs, and lost time. Our firm has significant experience in these cases and can get you back possession of your property as quickly as possible.