Ask Me Help Desk - Getting a tenant out

I'm writing for a friend who owns a very small house upstate for the past 30+ yrs.
She has a tenant who no longer has a lease. He pays by post office checks.
He use to pay every month, but now every two months. He has a truck that he keeps on the property. My friend wants to fix up the house (leaks -
Infrastructure) so she could use it sometimes. She's given him three months notice and he said it's too hard to find a place. What if he doesn't leave on
The date she asks.

This house is three hours away so it's hard to go back and forth a lot.

I hope that your friend gave the tenant a written notice and not a verbal one. If the notice was written, and if the tenant doesn't move out by that date, then your friend has to file a lawsuit for eviction in the county where the property is located. The court will set a trial date and when your friend appears at trial and wins a judgment, then she can request that the sheriff or constable perform the eviction.

If your friend gave the tenant a verbal notice then she will have to start over by giving written notice. Tell us the state and we can tell you how much notice she must give.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LisaB4657

I hope that your friend gave the tenant a written notice and not a verbal one. If the notice was written, and if the tenant doesn't move out by that date, then your friend has to file a lawsuit for eviction in the county where the property is located. The court will set a trial date and when your friend appears at trial and wins a judgment, then she can request that the sheriff or constable perform the eviction.

If your friend gave the tenant a verbal notice then she will have to start over by giving written notice. Tell us the state and we can tell you how much notice she must give.

It was done via Email and he replied. He didn't say he'd move, just described that it was difficult for him because his girlfriend left him, etc, etc... He has a quick temper and she hopes he doesn't do anything rash in the house. He pays very little and whenever he made an improvement (had a tree that was comprimised in a storm) she always told him he could skip the month (or two).

Since he replied to the email she will probably be okay in court on the notice issue. I understand her concern that he'll damage the house but unless she has someone in the area to keep an eye on the house for her there isn't much she can do about that.

She can file a lawsuit for eviction as soon as the notice period has ended.

Does your friend know anyone in the area, that can keep an eye on the house? She even try contacting the local sheriff. If it's that small a town they will usually help in matters like this.

As Lisa said, she's taken the first step by sending a vacate notice. Even though he acknowledged the e-mail. I would follow up with written notice. Something like:

As per my e-mail of <insert date> please vacate the property at <insert address> by <insert deadline>. Failure to do so, will result in a legal action to evict.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Does your friend know anyone in the area, that can keep an eye on the house? She even try contacting the local sheriff. If its that small a town they will usually help in matters like this.

As Lisa said, she's taken the first step by sending a vacate notice. Even though he acknowledged the e-mail. I would follow up with written notice. Something like:

As per my e-mail of <insert date> please vacate the property at <insert address> by <insert deadline>. Failure to do so, will result in a legal action to evict.

Your e-mail and Lisa's e-mail was very sensible and
There will be a follow-up letter. I couldn't (I tried) to click helpful but it said I
Couldn't right now. Thank you both for taking the time to write... and to write
Such a sensible reply.