Uncontested Eviction

Stipulated Judgments

      When tenants are delinquent, the landlord's main goal is to regain possession of the unit so that it can be rerented. An alternative to the time-consuming eviction process is the stipulated judgment, in which the tenant agrees to move and make payments over several months. This judgment is recorded with the court. If tenant does not vacate by the promised date, the court automatically issues a writ of possession without a full eviction proceeding; a lengthy trial is thereby avoided.

Default

      State laws grant tenants a certain number of days to respond to the eviction complaint (usually five days). If that period elapses and the tenant defaults (fails to respond by paying the rent or contesting the eviction), the plaintiff can file a request for a default judgment. In some states, like Florida, the court clerk can issue a Clerk's Default if the tenant fails to respond after five days. In others a hearing is held to hear the landlord's evidence that eviction is justified. If the default judgment is granted, a court usually awards a judgment for unpaid rent, as well as a writ of possession. That judgment gives the marshal or sheriff the power and authority to carry out the judgment and evict the tenants from the unit.

      Most states have a statutory appeal period from the time of any judgment. At the end of that period the plaintiff is entitled to a writ of execution.

      When you have a writ for possession it is necessary to retain the services of the appropriate officer to serve it on the tenant. The officer usually posts a "Notice" to vacate the unit, meaning that the tenant has a specific amount of time to leave the premises. If the tenant is still in possession when the officer arrives, the tenant is physically removed and the landlord regains possession of the unit. At that time, the landlord should immediately change the locks.

      The total time for a default eviction is usually 20 to 35 days.

NOTE. An officer will not remove the tenant's possessions, only the occupants of the unit. In many states the officer will stand by while the landlord and his agents remove the tenants property. In some other states, like California, the landlord must make arrangements for the tenant to remove the possessions or must store the tenant's property, usually for at least 30 days.