What should I bring to the eviction court date as the LANDLORD?

Question

I have a court date in 2 weeks for my first eviction in 5 years of rental real estate here in Decatur GA.  As the Landlord I want to make sure i have everything needed to win the case and get the non paying - No lease tenant out of my property.  Below is a background on what led to the eviction & what i intend to take with me on court day.

Tenant - Landlord Background : Tenant has actually paid rent up until Feb 2016 when her lease ran out, i ask her to inform me of her decision to either re-sign or leave, she asked for a month to month till May 2016 when school lets out so she doesn't have to move her kids due to school, i agreed and she paid rent Feb - May 2016.  The issue started when I asked for her to sign a lease before the end of May or move, all of a sudden she mentioned that we won't sign a lease until I fix the mold issue in the bathroom which she only brought up to me after I asked her to re-new the lease.  When I told her the mold and lease are two separate issues and that I would get my contractor out to see the mold and treat it, but I cannot wait any longer to get a new lease. She angrily said we would move 2 days before the end of May.  Come June 1st she said she won't move until she finds a new place and that is how we got here,  she has now stayed in my property all of June without paying and without a lease.  I filled eviction mid-June and have a court day July 5th.

What I intend to bring to Court on Eviction day

• Copy of the expired lease
• Tenant application form - Signed 
• Letter allowing her to lease month to month from Feb - May 2016
•  Print copies of txt msgs btw me & the tenant from Feb 1st - June 20th, 2016

Any advice, tips and strategy for court day would be much appreciated.

Account Closed · Answer

Go to court the week before your hearing and watch and take notes.

Valerie Couch · Answer

Every jurisdiction will be a little different but of course they all must follow state and federal guidelines. That said, I've appeared in several municipalities in the Cleveland, OH area.  The items that you plan to bring are perfect as well as what Paul mentioned regarding the 3-day notice. In addition, be prepared to tell them when the last time rent was paid (wouldn't hurt to have a copy of that receipt but they probably won't ask).

I can also tell you in my experience that if you are set up as an LLC, you will likely be required to appear with legal representation.  You can always go and hope they don't make you but they usually will in which case they will give you an extension which will of course prolong the eviction.

Also in my experience if she tries to say that she isn't paying because of mold or any other issue, judge/magistrate isn't going to allow it.

I'm sure you're also aware but in the meantime, don't accept any payment including partial.  Again, may be different in GA but in OH acceptance of partial payment waives landlord's right to evict.

Good luck!

Account Closed · Answer

text message notices to vacate will be insufficient.

I would do some google searches for lawful evictions in your county.

Your eviction is improper and the court will likely throw it out.

Olu Sanya · Answer

Thanks guys for all the help with evicting my previous tenant.  Below is the update on what happened when I went to court 2 weeks ago.

I decided to hire an attorney especially after fearing that since I only gave the tenant a notice to vacate the property via text, my case might be thrown out by the judge for improper notice as mentioned by a number of comments in this post.

On the court date the tenant didn't show up, so I won; I immediately filed for a Rite of possession and took back my property.  The tenant was so filthy that it cost me $7000 to clean, paint and remove mold that had been growing in several parts of the house.  The house is now fresh and new ready for a new tenant.

I am currently showing the house for rent this weekend in Decatur GA.

Thanks for all the help and advice, i am so grateful to this amazing community.

Timothy Murphy III · Answer

@Valerie Couch is absolutely correct in that you're required to have a licensed attorney handle the case if an LLC or other corporate entity is a plaintiff in the action (at least in Ohio). Tenants don't always contest the evictions but occasionally one will try to throw every silly argument under the sun at the court in effort to stay in the property. Claims of retaliatory eviction and / or failure to pay due to poor condition of the premises are common. What those tenants rarely know, however, is that those defenses to eviction fail if the rent wasn't escrowed with the court. Do note, however, that a tenant friendly magistrate may not tell the landlord this so the landlord and / or his attorney should be prepared to fend off that argument with the appropriate case law.

Rebecca Zadell · Answer

Here is the DeKalb County website with info on the process:

http://www.dekalbcountymagistratecourt.org/civil/D...

Good luck, and hope everything goes smoothly!

James Wise · Answer

Most places you need to give a formal notice to the tenant that you intend to begin the eviction process if they do not vacate on their own. Typically it is a 3 day notice. That has to be sent via certified mail or posted to the tenant's front door.

Paul Amegatcher · Answer

Make sure you bring a copy of the 3-day notice to vacate (or whatever day notice your state requires) .

You may have to use the right terms before some courts will evict.  In ohio some courts require you to state the following:

"My name is Paul Amegatcher. I am the owner of the property located at 123 Main St.  The statutory notice was served prior to the eviction process.  The tenant has violated their lease by not paying their rent for may and june 2016.  I ask for restitution of the premises"

I'm not sure what is required in you state but you may want to go sit in court next week before you have to be there so you can get a feel for how the process goes.  I will talk to an attorney or other experienced landlords on what to expect as well.  Good luck.

Paul Amegatcher

Olu Sanya · Answer

@Paul Amegatcher & @Valerie Couch, i sent her several notices to vacate but they where all via txt msg and i have printed copies of all our txt msg communication from Feb to May.  Is this a problem that i didn't send a 3-day notice to vacate before I filed the eviction?

Account Closed I will go to court a week before to get an idea.

Corby Goade · Answer

Account Closed, great advice, I wouldn't have thought of that.

I've only been through this once, but I brought everything I had. Leases, photos, email exchanges, phone records, etc. The judge literally flipped through my photos like a flip book and ruled in my favor. Took all of 60 seconds. That was seven years ago and I still haven't seen a dime. I know, shocking, right?

What should I bring to the eviction court date as the LANDLORD?

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