Wednesday, July 9

Real Estate FAQs

Evictions

Illegal "Self-Help" Evictions

As any experienced landlord will attest, there are occasional tenants who do things so outrageous that the landlord is tempted to bypass normal legal protections and take direct and immediate action to protect his property. For example, after a tenant's numerous promises to pay rent, a landlord may consider changing the locks and putting the tenant's property out in the street. Or, a landlord who is responsible for paying the utility charges may be tempted to simply not pay the bill in the hopes that the resulting lack of water, gas or electricity will hasten a particularly outrageous tenant's departure.

Any landlord who is tempted to take the law into her own hands to force or scare a troublesome tenant out of her property should heed the following advice: Don't do it! Shortcuts such as threats, intimidation, utility shutoffs or attempts to physically remove a tenant are illegal and dangerous, and anyone who resorts to them you may well find herself on the wrong end of a lawsuit for trespass, assault, battery, slander and libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful eviction. So, although the eviction process can often entail considerable trouble, expense and delay, it's the only legal game in town.

Landlords who take matters into their own hands often think that their behavior will be excused by the tenant's egregious conduct. However, the fact that the tenant didn't pay rent, left the property a mess, verbally abused the manager or otherwise acted outrageously will not be a valid defense. While the landlord can file her own lawsuit for damages or back rent, she will very likely lose the lawsuit brought by the tenant for illegally evicting him. Defending this lawsuit will cost far more than evicting the tenant using legal court procedures.

Virtually every state that forbids "self-help" evictions also imposes penalties for landlords who break the law. Tenants who have been locked out, frozen out by having the heat cut off or denied electricity or water can sue for their actual money losses, such as the need for temporary housing, the value of food that spoiled when the refrigerator stopped running or the cost of an electric heater when the gas was shut off. They may also sue for penalties as well, such as several months' rent. In some states, the tenant can collect and still remain in the premises; in others, he is entitled to monetary compensation only.

Even in states that have not legislated against self-help evictions, landlords who throw tenants out on their own run a risk of serious practical and legal entanglements. The potential for nastiness and violence is great--picture the arrival of a patrol car while tenant and landlord wrestle over the sofa on the lawn. Landlords are frequently surprised at the appearance of a lawsuit over the "disappearance" of their tenant's valuable possessions, which the tenant claims were lost or taken when the landlord removed her belongings. Using a neutral law enforcement officer to enforce a judge's eviction order will avoid these unpleasantries.

Landlords Who Pretend That Property is Abandoned
A few states allow landlords to freely dispose of a tenant's leftover property when he has moved out. This is legal only if it is quite clear that the tenant has left permanently, intending to turn the place over to the owner. Landlords shouldn't take a tenant's property under the guise of handling "abandoned" property. Seizing property under a bogus claim that the tenant had abandoned it will expose a landlord to significant monetary penalties.