Eviction FAQs
What is the cost for an eviction?
My office charges a flat $2,000.00 for an eviction case (possession Only)
What is the timeline for an eviction? What steps are necessary?
Most eviction cases follow the following steps:
- Once the proper notices have been delivered a compliance time has expired, the landlord could bring an eviction action.
- File a Complaint with the lease agreement and applicable notice attached
- Get eviction summonses issued by the clerk.
- Have a process server serve the complaint and summonses.
- Once served, the tenants have 5 business days to file response with the court and in most cases, pay any past due rent into the registry of the Court.
- If tenant fails to respond or fails to pay the rent into the registry of the court, then the landlord can ask the clerk for a default and a default judgment.
- After getting a judgment signed by the judge, the landlord asks the clerk to issue a Writ of Possession.
- A Writ of Possession is taken to the Sheriff with the applicable fee.
- The Sheriff delivers a copy of the writ of possession to the rented property and gives the tenant 24 to 48 hours to vacate the property.
- The landlord and the sheriff meet at the property to take possession of it.
- Any personal property of the tenant is generally removed to the curb. There are storage options but they’re more complex.
Generally, this entire process takes around 30 days.
Am I required to have an attorney to do an eviction?
No. You are not required to have an attorney to do an eviction. If your property is owned by an LLC or a corporation, then you could file an uncontested eviction case without an attorney. If the case becomes contested, you would have to employ an attorney.
Although having an attorney is not required, we recommend it. There are a lot of steps to take and a lot of rules to follow. Having an attorney may save you time. May people try to do the eviction themselves, but end up spending months trying to move the case along. Hiring an attorney generally helps cut down that timeline.
The stakes are also high. The prevailing party in an eviction action is entitled to attorney’s fees from the other side. So, if you lose due to a mistake in the process, you could be stuck with a fat attorney’s fee bill from the other side.
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