Process of eviction for reasons other than non-payment of rent?

Question

I am trying to find out what the process of eviction is for a tenant that is not getting evicted because of not paying rent but because they are disturbing other tenants on a continuous basis.

My landlord said that today she would send out an eviction letter giving them 15 days to move out and if they dont, then they would have to scedule a court date, etc.

Is it that the court date and all that is set, if the tenant decides to fight back??

They are a young couple with a child and party every weekend and are EXTREMELY noisy. Basically on weekends our apartment has an earthquake because they roughhouse.

The thing is that I am the only tenant that would be effected. It is one floor apartments and I am on top of them..

There is no one in front or behind.

Also, our lease basically has an oath that as a tenant, i will be respectful and not interrupt the peace and quiet of my neighbors and other tenants.

I was told by my landlord that it doesnt matter what time they are noisy, they are being disruptive.

Answer 1

The process is the same, minus the 3 day "pay or quit" notice.

However, your landlord will loose this in court and could be charged for harassment.

Unless they are making noise after your city allows (usually 10 pm) and they have been charged with disturbing the peace evicting for "noise" is unlawful, as it is simply one persons opinion over anothers.

Answer 2

It is exactly the same process. You can check with the local court, they may have some information on the process.
They are being given the 15 days, then a 3 day notice will be posted. After the three days the landlord will file an eviction notice with the city. The tenants will have to respond and if so, a court date will be set, probably 3-6 weeks out.
Then a court case. If they lose then an eviction date will be set, 15-30 days out.
The eviction is usually of breech of contract, most common is not paying, but the lease has a list of other terms, such as not disturbing the peace.
This is a bit tricky as there most likely will need to be documentation. You need to keep a log of their activity....up late, loud music, yelling, entered and left house 7 times, etc.
You and the other tenants may need to write a letter to the landlord stating their behavior is x, y, and z, and they regularly disturb the peace and in general show no regard for the neighbors right of quiet enjoyment.
If your landlord has not evicted anyone for this problem, he may want to speak to an attorney. The standard of breech of contract may vary, maybe he needs police reports or complaint letters from other tenants.
a>

Answer 3

Eviction law is local, but the basic outline of these things is that the landlord has the right to file an Unlawful Detainer (eviction) action in court after serving proper notice on the tenant. Yes, the tenant can fight back and, depending on their willingness to do so and the legitimacy of their defenses, the matter can drag on for a while even thought evictions generally move to the head of the line on the court calendar.

You might have your own potential lawsuit against them if their conduct is unreasonable and you suffered damages as a result. That's really not a nice way to live with your neighbors. Another possibility for you is to get a restraining order against them so that you can call law enforcement in anytime they get boisterous beyond what is specified in the court order.

That's all theory, however, and you should consider moving if the the landlord cannot resolve the issue. You probably have good cause to break your lease if the landlord cannot provide you with a reasonably quiet place to live.

Answer 4

The process for eviction (or Unlawful Detainer (Minnesota)), is the same whether it's for non-payment of rent, or any other reason. Depending on the lease, the items stipulated in the lease are things you as a tenant are agreeing to do. One of them is to pay the rent, but other things are: quiet enjoyment, no pets, occupancy, maintenance and repairs, etc. If any of these are violated the landlord has the ability to evict.

Here in MN, you must provide the tenant 'reasonable notice' of the violation. For me, I usually use 5 days, and 9 times out of 10, it is for non-payment of rent. So the tenant has 5 days to correct the violation, whether it be non-payment, or need to be more respectful of their neighbors. If it's not corrected within 5 days, then I go down to rent court and file for a UD, pay the fee, and wait. The court date is sent in the mail, and it's usually 4 weeks later. So if you're thinking this is going to be a quick solution, it probably isn't. Even after you do get possession back from the court, it's still going to be a couple days until you can change the locks and get them out.

My suggestion, and I tell it to all landlords, is to pay the tenants to leave the property. Agree that if the tenants leave within 5 days, and leave the property in good condition, we'll pay them 1/2 month's rent. Usually that gets them out faster and with less damage than a formal eviction.

So to answer your question, it is the same as any other reason to evict, but it may be more difficult for the landlord to evict based on the tenants being too loud. Good luck, and I hope this gets sorted out for you quickly.

Answer 5

Real estate law is jurisdiction-specific. It's different everywhere. Google 'landlord tenant residential tenancy and the name of your state/province' to find the rules for your area.

The NOTICE REQUIREMENT is indeed a big deal but, frankly, it sounds as if these characters have already been apprised of a series of complaints to which they've failed to respond. If they wish to contest the 15-day deadline, yes, they can try going to court. Their chances will depend on the evidence of noise/nuisance, whether their noise breached any bylaws, etc., their efforts, if any, to mitigate and whether and how well landlord has followed the local procedures required to secure an eviction. Most likely, landlord will end up with a court order to have tenants removed, which might include the right to assistance from sheriff. In some jurisdictions, tenants are billed with the costs attached to enforcing such order.

Answer 6

First, someone else said the disturbing the peace ordinance is after 10pm, thats not true here where I live in southern California. Here you can call the cops any time of the day or night for disturbing the peace.

Landlords sometimes drag their feet on evicting someone for "noise/disturbing others" because of the cost of filing the eviction and the headache of having to go to court etc. The landlord usually hopes you will get sick of the noise and move.

Just call the cops on the young couple that make the nose. They will get sick and tired of the cops beating on their door every nite and they will stop partying.

Answer 7

Well, if I understand this all correctly...the landlord still needs to give them a 30 day eviction notice. Then if they don't leave, she will have to get a court date to get an order for eviction. If the judge finds in the landlords favor for eviction, the total time frame might be a little over a month. When we went for an eviction, we were informed by our lawyer that a non-paying renter is much easier to evict than for some other reason. So if these renters decide to fight it, it might come down to your landlords word over theirs. The judge could side with either party on this one.

Answer 8

Check with your local landlord/tenant board but I do believe she has to file papers which allow them to respond before eviction. Also, if they're month to month, they'll need a 30 day notice, if not, it's 90 days. If a court time is already set, they will be able to fight back in landlord tenant court.

Answer 9

right here in Calif My tenant did not pay hire so I went & served a three DAYS notice TO PAY hire OR end. After that I filed unlawful DETAINER in courtroom & served her. She had 5 DAYS to respond. Then get the judgement & circulate to Sheriff. Then Sheriff served notice to circulate in 5 days or they forcefully get rid of tenant. In case the tenant replied then next week or so the trial. no remember if it extremely is non fee or unfavorable sources then a hundred% of time landlord will win if no habitability this is diff to instruct.