Who do I call to have the written eviction/30 day notice enforced?

Question

I rent a basement apt in charleston,WV and my land lady verbally notified me that she is selling her house ( which by the way is held in trust by the bank for her late husbands kids) and that I have 10 days to move. I do know that in WV you have to give 30 days notice to a tenant and it has to be in writing. So who do I call to have this enforced?

Answer 1

You "enforce" the 30 day notification requirement by not moving out until 30 days have elapsed.

But, if you have a lease, that notice to quit is void and unenforceable until your lease expires. If you have a lease and the building is sold, the buyer is legally obligated to honor the terms of the lease and cannot put you out until it expires.

If you don't have a lease, I'd just send the landlady a letter that acknowledges her notice, and advises her that you will vacate by the 30 days required by law, not the 10 days that she is requesting.

Don't worry about it if she threatens to try to evict you as it will take her longer than the 20 additional days to pull that off anyway. If she should file an actual evicition, make SURE that you respond to the notice and challenge it in court. This is a hassle, but if you just let it slide she'll get a default judgement and THAT could show up on your credit report.

Answer 2

You don't call anyone.

I don't know for sure if that's what the WV statute says, but state laws usually provide for 30 days on notices of eviction. Anyway, send the landlady a certified letter stating that you must insist on her complying with the statute but that you will try to try to vacate the premises as soon as you can. Keep a copy of the letter and the receipt for the certified mailing.

When it comes to evictions, the ball is in the court of the landlord to file a suit to evict you. By keeping a copy of the certified letter, you can prove to the court that you insisted on your full 30 days.

Usually, the actual physical eviction is done by the local sheriff. They're usually the one to toss the stuff out onto the street. But the sheriff can't/won't do that until the landlord gets a court order that says that you have to be out by a certain date and that if you're not the sheriff must go over and empty the place out. By insisting on your rights via the letter, you're covering yourself and giving yourself the maximum time possible.

Regardless of what you do, start looking for another place right away and get out as soon as possible. There's no sense stalling when the landlord has the right to evict you.

FYI, I'm a former attorney from Michigan.

Answer 3

In most states it has to be in writing. I wouldn't move until she gives you a 30 day notice. There is really no one to call she has to make the step to file for eviction which if she didn't serve you a letter in writing they will dismiss the case until she does it the right way...to avoid all the mess I would talk to her tell her your rights and tell her to give you a 30 day notice in writing and if she will not do that don't move till she figures out what she needs to do. She can't do anything... until it is done right.