Evictions
What is an Unlawful Detainer, and how does it affect me?
What is an Eviction?
An Eviction or “Unlawful Detainer”, is a court-supervised process that allows landlords to recover possession of their rental unit from a tenant if the tenant violates the terms of the lease or for a specific reason for rent control properties.
Evictions are a last resort. It is always recommend trying to work with the tenant before going the legal route. If the tenant keeps asking for more time with nothing happening, or there is a breakdown in communication then you have no alternative but to start the eviction process. Giving up to 30 days to try and work it out may save the Landlord many lawyer fees. Sometimes simply receiving an eviction notice from an attorney is enough to convince the tenant to action and a full eviction may not be necessary.
At Fault Eviction Examples:
No-Fault Eviction Examples:
How Long Does an Eviction Take?
Non-Contested Eviction: 1 month
Contested Eviction: 3 months
If an eviction is unavoidable, there is no sense wasting time to get started – nasty evictions can take several months. Evictions are usually pretty fast compared to other kinds of cases that can take months to years. The average non contested eviction takes about one month. With COVID 19 and court delays, those same cases are taking about 3 months. For Eviction cases where the tenant answers and it is contested, those can take 6 months to a year or two for extremely complicated and messy ones.
How much does an Eviction Cost?
Evictions can cost landlords in several ways, not just the legal fees. Here are some of the costs associated with evictions:
The typical legal fees for a non contested eviction are $2,500 to $5,000 and for contested they can go from $7,000 up to 15K or 20K for a real messy one. Evictions aren’t cheap! Most eviction attorneys will charge between $250 – $500/hr. Some attorneys require a retainer in the 3K to 5K range and sometimes will charge an initial consultation fee of a few hundred dollars.
