Eviction x 2 ?

Question

Greetings! So I have searched high and low and can’t seem to find much guidance on a situation I am currently dealing with. I have received a judgement for possession against a tenant at the magisterial/district level (arrears and breaches of the lease) Tenent has Indictated they will appeal the judgement. From what I have learned an appeal may take upwards of 6 mos to be heard. The lease expires in about 2.5 months.

I assume if they stay past the end of the lease I will have to file for eviction once again. If I prevail again I assume they may appeal that ruling as well. Is it possible to essentially be evicted twice and have two appeals pending?

Thanks for any thoughts. It’s been a headache but that’s how one learns I suppose!

Alan Asriants · Answer

Unfortunately until the court makes a final ruling on evicting the tenant they can stay there as long as possible if they keep up with the payments.

My buddy just recently went through this with a "professional" tenant

they kept using every trick in the book to rxtend and extend.

Eventually he settled for a deal that forgave the rent owed and prevented the tenant from appealing

Bill Springer · Answer

Just an update on my situation. Today is the last day of the appeal window. Tenant indicates he is going to file the appeal. So if he follows thru I will in fact be faced with the situation I initially posted about.

Appeals can take 6 months to even be heardThe lease runs out in 2.5 months. I strongly believe he will stay past the lease end. At that time I would have to file for another eviction based on not vacating at the end of the lease. He could then appeal that 2nd eviction

The positive thing is that he will have to continue to pay rent to the County every 30 days while the appeal is pending.

The negative is I needed him gone yesterday and it looks like he will stay for months and months!

Ryan Fox · Answer

@Bill Springer- Consult with your local attorney about it, but I would think you could file a second eviction after they fail to pay the next month's rent.  Put the pressure on them to handle the logistics of responding to two evictions.  This is something that can be done in California to expedite the process.

*Not meant as legal advice.  For informational purposes only.

Ricardo R. · Answer

@Bill Springer sorry to hear you're going through this. It sounds like you self-manage... I would highly recommend your hire a property manager moving forward. You're going to pay for it either way and right now you are paying for it!... PMing looks easy just like plumbing sounds easy... until stuff starts leaking. Get a PM and you won't have to waste time researching what to do now. I hope this helps you beyond this issue.

Eric Greenberg · Answer

Hi Bill, Id search/reach out to the folks on the Philly Landlords Connect facebook page.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/PhillyLandlords/?ref=share&...

Bill Springer · Answer

Thank you to all who have replied. Much appreciated.

So the tenant did drive up to the county courthouse on the last day of the 10 day appeal window. I believe he found out that he had to pay the county while the appeal would play out and he backed out.  What he did was send me a picture of the courthouse and texted that he had a change of heart and that it was “not right” to appeal. Why he didn’t have this change of heart during the 50 min drive up to the courthouse is funny. I know he had full intentions of appealing but decided against when faced with having to actually pay someone for the first time in months.

Fast fwd to this past Monday and I was able to take possession of the property with the assistance of a couple constables. Today I found out that he appealed the money judgement.  He filed the appeal 3 days before possession on Monday. So he is out yet I am waiting to be served for this appeal.  Spoke to a lawyer and he suggested that we do not file a response and be done with it.  I tend to agree as I never thought I would see any of the money judgement anyway. A small consultation fee is better than a large retainer and a prolonged situation which would see arbitration and possibly an appearance in front on a judge.

Bill Springer · Answer

Hi Mike . The eviction process is fairly efficient here in Bucks. And it was in my case.  It’s the tenant appeal of the eviction judgement that takes so long.

Mike Dymski · Answer

That sounds awful.  In my area, it's common for rent to be due on the 1st, late on the 6th, and file eviction on the 10th...with the rare setout within 1-2 months.

Bill Springer · Answer

Thanks for the tip Gersh. I have an attorney lined up. I can pull the trigger if the tenant does follow thru with his appeal. The tenant is already 2 so in arrears and I am hoping the prospect of paying 2 months rent in the first 30 days to the county just to appeal his eviction may make him change his mind!

Eviction x 2 ?

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