Purchased a house in PA, it already had a tenant in it. What is the procedure to evict them so I can move in?

See if you have a small claims court or magistrate court with jurisdiction over landlord tenant law.

Nancy,

Let's back up more than a little, please. At the time you were negotiating the purchase of the house with the owner's, were the tenant's already in the house?

What was the agreement between the owner and the tenant in place at that time? Has the tenant violated any part of the agreement to date? Do you know whether the original owner passed the agreement over to you within the sales contract?

What reason are you giving and what terms are you making available to the tenants to assist them?

Personally, prior to going to court to file for an eviction, I'd suggest that you get a copy of the tenants rental agreement and do some homework to see if you have the force of law behind you to demand this eviction at the present time.

Also, why would you want to put a family out on the street in the middle of winter just because you might be able to.

What's really going on here?

Well first if the tenant has a lease, you can't evict them, till the lease is over. You are obligated to the lease. IF this is on a written month to month rental, you are not obligated to all the terms of the written rental agreement. So if there is any written paperwork, you have to follow any of those rules.

If there is no written rental, normally you will have to give them a 30 day written notice and ask them to leave. If the don't, then you have to go to court and file for a formal court eviction.

Also you are not liable for the deposit, it should have been either given to you as a credit or the account of the deposit transferred to you. So when the people move out, you have to give them their deposit back.

It is true what Chuck stated. I had a triplex and sold it while there were tenants living in it. I was required to provide copies of the lease agreements for each tenant along with their security deposits to the new owner.