Eviction is a scary and complicated topic that many people don’t want to talk about or understand. As the leader of the household, you have a lot of power in court!
Being able to say “yes” or “no” can make the difference between an order for back rent and an order for removal. If you can refuse an empty offer or show that someone else lived in the house for at least a short period of time, you can get your eviction ordered differently.
Bullet point: Reasonable Accommodation Relevant
After some hard work and court rulings, most states have laws that recognize housing discrimination as a violation of basic human rights. This includes recognizing housing discrimination against people with mental health disorders, people with criminal records, and those with lower incomes as violations of basic human rights.
This important step toward justice is still rare, which is why this article focuses on what happens in eviction court.
Contents:
Submit complaint to clerk
After the tenant submits a complaint against the property owner, the owner goes to court to seek an eviction. The judge will decide if there is enough evidence to justify an eviction.
In order for a complaint to be considered, the judge must find that there is at least one substantial violation of the lease or rental agreement. If the judge finds that violations have occurred, he or she must rule in favor of the landlord.
The key question for the judge to answer is: should the tenant be evicted? The judge needs to answer this question on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all of the factors listed in chapter 4 of this article.
When an eviction goes through court, it can be very stressful for both sides.
Serve plaintiff
After an eviction case has begun, the court will call the parties to come in and set a date for their appearance. The parties must be present and have an answer by then, or a new date will be scheduled.
When a new date is scheduled, the court will notify both parties via phone or In-Person visit. If the party does not show up for the scheduled meeting, they may be dismissed from the case.
At this meeting, plaintiff can present any evidence they have that shows their needs as an individual and why they should remain in house. Defendant can do the same for proof that demonstrates why they deserve to leave.
Once both sides have their testimony ready, the court will determine who is more accurate in their testimony and who has more evidence to prove their point.
Answer or appear
As the eviction goes on, the next step in trying to get your lease back is appearing in court. This means presenting yourself in court and asking for a hearing to show your commitment to the community and your ability to pay the rent.
Appearing in court is not an easy way to go. It requires spending some time planning for your case and being prepared to answer questions. If you are able to prove your residency, then there is no reason not to get a re-rental!
The biggest challenge I face when trying to obtain re-admission is that I do not want to go back where I was. As hard as it can be, obtaining a good appearance can take weeks or even months.
Witnesses
There are several witnesses a person can give against the bathe owner in eviction court. These include family members, friends, community members, and other bathe owners.
The important thing to consider when choosing who to testify for the bathe owner is what each witness can contribute to help prove the bathe owner owes a mortgage or rental payment and/or rent.
For example, a friend may be able to testify that the bathe owner lived at least six months out of the year and paid rent, as well as any utilities needed to run a house. A family member may be able to testify that the bathe owner always showed up for meals and was a good neighbor.
Property inspection
After a judge receives information from a property inspection, he or she may decide to give the person or organization that performed the property inspection another week to recheck the property.
If the judge decides there is no need for another week, then the person or organization can finish preparing for court that week. If the judge decides needs more time, then the next step is getting a second opinion about the property.
Then, a professional appraiser comes in and does an analysis on how much money he or she would pay for the property and how it should be valued.
Once this happens, the judge can schedule an eviction hearing, which is when everyone goes to court to get an eviction orders completed. At this hearing, both parties tell what they have and why they want to get out of their lease.
Permanent injunction
If a majority of the court agrees, the evicted party can request a permanent injunction. This means that anyone who tries to come into the home after the court order will be subject to the court’s judgment.
The person requesting the injunction must prove that they are trustworthy by showing that they have not violated the court order or other people’s property laws. They must also show that they will stand by their request if someone disagrees with it.
A big question mark hanging in every eviction case is whether or not someone will get a divorce. If one does not exist, then there is no need for an injunction as there won’t be a home to return to. If one does exist, then a divorce cannot prevent someone from getting an injunction because it would be against federal law to do so.
Money judgment
After the eviction court case, the evicting party determines whether or not they can legally remove the person from their property based on several factors. These include:
The ability to fund a legal defense, pay for liquidation of the property, and present a plan for re-homes. In many cases, this includes providing housing assistance.
If not, then it is time to forcibly remove the person from their property. This can be done with or without a court order and using any method of money judgment that can be used to remove someone from their property. For example, putting posters up saying how much you owe them, baking them a cake but telling them you cannot give it to them because of debt, or charging someone else the cost of hosting an eviction so that you can use that money to pay for your defense.
These steps occur before the actual removal date so that anyone who needs help with preparation can come.
Appeal?
If your landlord or apartment owner doesn’t make it in court, he or she can try an appeal process. This can happen if the landlord or owner does not want the new person occupying the apartment.
An appeal can be made to a higher authority such as a state supreme court or federal courts. If failed, the landlord has to let you go.
If successful, the new person may be able to get an increase in rent or a new lease, depending on where they are in the legal process. Then you go back to your original type of housing with no change in price!
Depending on where your appeal goes, it could take months or even years to get an answer.