Your landlord must go through a court process to evict you from your unit. it is illegal for the landlord to personally remove you from the rental unit unless the landlord first has a "Writ of Possession" from the Court, which must be "served" (given to you) by a sheriff or a police officer. A Writ of Possession is a judgment by the Court that officially gives the unit back to the landlord.
NOTICE: Your landlord must give you written notice that you have to leave, unless you are at the end of a term lease, and lease has expired. The notice must give you a certain number of days to either leave or correct the problem. This notice is what triggers the right for your landlord to go to court and evict you if you do not leave or correct the problem.
For example: If you are behind on your rent, your landlord must send you a 5-day notice to pay in full or move. If you pay in full within the 5-day period, no eviction proceedings should begin. If you do not pay in full, including any late fees, your landlord has the right to file for eviction on day six.
To be a proper, a notice must be written and it must give you a specified amount of time to fix the problem. The following are the number of days for proper notice popular in evictions:
Non-payment of rent |
5 business days |
Violation of rules or lease |
10 days |
Termination of rental (for reasons except non-payment or least violations |
Month-to-month: 45 days
Week-to-week: 10 days |
*Business days means that holidays and weekends are not included. For example, if your landlord gives you a non-payment of rent notice on Thursday, 5 business days would be: Friday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. You have up to Thursday to pay your rent or be subjected to eviction. Your landlord can only file your eviction in court the following Friday, the 6th day.
This written notice do NOT need to be served by a sheriff or police officer. Your landlord can mail or hand deliver it to you.
If a written lease and lease term is ending, NO notice is required. Please refer to the Landlord/Tenant Handbook attached below to check other time-limits or deadlines