When do you get evicted

The notice expires after 60 days under RCW It is important for tenants to respond to the day notice in writing stating that they are or will be in compliance with the rental agreement.

It is a good idea to include all written documentation possible to support the claim. For example, if your landlord sends you a day notice to remove unauthorized pets from the unit, you can send the landlord a letter explaining the situation and documentation to show how you are in compliance.

Or, you may also decide to vacate the unit within the day time frame instead of complying with the term of the lease. If you vacate, your landlord cannot bring an unlawful detainer action against you, and you will not have an eviction on your record, but you will be held responsible for the consequences associated with breaking your lease or vacating without giving proper notice. For example, if you got a notice for a noise complaint, but had been out of town that week, you can provide proof that you were staying elsewhere during that time.

A waste, nuisance, or illegal activity notice is less common, but requires quick action by any tenant who receives one. Waste and nuisance, in this instance, are terms that indicate a gross offense on the part of the tenant, for example major destruction of the rental unit or an arrest on the property. It may also include criminal offenses, including drug- or gang-related crimes. This notice does not give the tenant the option of complying, but instead requires that the tenant vacate the property immediately in order to avoid an eviction lawsuit.

Sometimes the landlord may give a 3-day notice for waste or nuisance when it is not appropriate. Seek legal advice and assistance if you receive a 3-day notice to vacate for waste or nuisance. A common misuse of this notice is for a noise violation.

A tenant should be issued a day notice to comply or vacate for noise issues; waste or nuisance are generally considered to be far more serious than noise complaints.

After the initial notice has expired and you are still in the unit the landlord must have a neutral third party such as a process server or the Sheriff serve you the eviction lawsuit. The landlord cannot serve the lawsuit directly themselves. This is important because you may need to serve a response to that attorney.

The Summons and Complaint are often served without having been filed in the court, so it does not necessarily mean that you have an eviction on your record when you receive them. This is an excellent point in the process to try to settle the eviction with your landlord before they file the lawsuit with the court. Once the lawsuit is filed at the courthouse that is when an eviction record is created.

An eviction record—regardless of whether you win or lose—can cause you to be denied housing later on by a tenant screening company. The easiest way to tell if the lawsuit has been filed is to look at the front page to see if there is a stamped filing number.

If you do not respond to the Summons and Complaint, you will automatically lose the eviction. The deadline for your response will generally be one week from the date you received the Summons and Complaint.

Your answer will give you an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding the eviction and to present any defenses you have against the eviction lawsuit. See Legal Assistance Guide to find a legal aid agency to assist you with your response. On the front page of the Summons there is a date for response. If you do not respond by that date, you will get a default judgment against you and will automatically lose the lawsuit.

However, your answer to the Summons and Complaint must be submitted to the court in writing prior to the due date in order to not automatically waive your right to a court hearing. It is very important that you document that the landlord or their attorney received your response before the deadline. You can fax it to their office and print out a fax confirmation sheet, or you can hand deliver it to their office.

Ask them to date and sign for it and note the specific time it was received. See Legal Assistance Guide for information about how get help responding to an eviction. The comprehensive packet Eviction and Your Defense has many of the forms you can use to respond.

Look closely for this notice, as it requires extra attention and response. Tenants who receive such a notice must file a sworn statement with the court or pay the amount owed the landlord into the court registry within 7 days of the date the case is filed with the court by the deadline stated on the notice in addition to filing their answer or notice of appearance.

Such notices can only be used in eviction lawsuits based upon day notices to pay rent or vacate, not with any other type of notice. Paying the money into the court registry as the notice requires does not stop the eviction. Seek legal assistance immediately for more information on how to respond to a payment or sworn statement requirement. This explains what your landlord can and cannot do. It also tells you how the eviction process works and how long it takes.

It explains some common defenses to eviction actions. After you have read this information, you may have more questions. This article may answer some of those questions. If you live in Maine and still need to know more, call Pine Tree Legal.

If you do not live in Maine, contact your local legal aid organization. Decide what you want to do. Your landlord must take several steps to legally evict you. These steps take a minimum of two weeks beyond the move-out date listed in the first notice. So, if you need more time, don't sell yourself short. If you are offering to save your landlord the expense of a court hearing by settling early, you should be able to get some extra time for that.

Before you agree to a date, read more below under "What if I plan to move out but I need more time? If you want to fight the eviction, think about whether you can make a good case for not being evicted. Some common defenses are explained in Rights of Maine Renters: Eviction. Also, read more below under "If I want to fight the eviction, what do I do? Talk to your landlord about whether they will accept a payment arrangement to give you a chance to catch up on your rent. If your landlord agrees to a repayment plan make sure you put the agreement in writing.

It is also helpful for you and your landlord to sign and date the agreement. If the landlord will not agree to this, you may be able to get some help from one of these places:. It provides emergency help to low income households with children. You can apply this toward a security deposit or toward back rent if it will prevent the eviction. You have a day period to get all of the emergency help you need.

After the 30 days, this program will not help you again for 12 months. Therefore, once you apply, ask for information on everything they can help with and apply for everything you need within those 30 days. Applications may also be available at your town office or utility company. Like Emergency Assistance, it helps families with children.

It provides the equivalent of 4 months of TANF benefits to resolve emergencies such as an eviction that may prevent you from getting or keeping a job. General Assistance is a welfare program run by every city or town. If your income is too low to meet your basic necessities, such as rent, and your income is less than the "assistance maximum," your local town can help you.

In an emergency, your town or city should do whatever is necessary to assure you have basic necessities: shelter, food, heat, medicine, etc. However, the town may require you to show that your income for the last 30 days was spent on basic necessities in order to qualify. If you are being evicted, the town should assist with the first month's rent or, in an emergency, back rent.

More information on General Assistance. Your local Salvation Army, Red Cross or homeless shelter sometimes can help you with emergency housing. Partial list of emergency shelters in Maine. For more information contact the Maine State Housing Authority : Rights of Maine Renters: Eviction explains, in detail, what landlords in different types of rental situations must do to legally evict. Here is a quick overview of those rules:. If you have a lease then the lease will usually say what kind of notice the landlord has to give you.

A verbal eviction notice is generally not legal. Keep your eviction notice. The Eviction Notice is not the same thing as a court order. Your landlord cannot legally evict you until they get a court order allowing the eviction.

If you live in a rooming house, these rules may not apply to you. Learn more in Hotels, Motels, and Rooming Houses. If you do not appeal, you can be evicted by a constable or sheriff in as little as 22 days after the hearing before the Magisterial District Judge. If the eviction case was only for nonpayment of rent, you may stop the eviction any time before you are actually evicted by paying the amount the Magisterial District Judge ordered, including court costs.

This is called the right to pay and stay. Note that the court costs go up if the landlord requests an Order for Possession , so it is best to pay as soon as possible. Many Pennsylvania courts have said your landlord cannot evict you by self-help, meaning such things as padlocking your door, shutting off your utilities, using force to evict you, or using any eviction method other than going to court.

Your local county assistance office may have emergency shelter assistance for people who need help paying their rent or paying a security deposit for a new place to live.

Many churches and community agencies also may be able to help. You should call , the United Way Hotline for more information on rental assistance.

If you are having trouble finding a decent, affordable place to live, consider applying for subsidized housing with your local Housing Authority. These rules do not always apply if a tenant is being evicted because of drug-related criminal activity in the household. In those cases, the landlord is not required to give the tenant a written notice before filing the eviction case, and the case can be filed in Common Pleas Court rather than with a Magisterial District Judge.

The law also provides greater rights to tenants in public and subsidized housing and to owners of mobile homes who rent space in mobile home parks. See separate brochures on those rights, or check with your local legal aid office. Your landlord must give you ten 10 days after the eviction to contact him and let him know you want to come get your personal property. If you contact your landlord within the first ten 10 days, then your landlord must store your personal property for at least thirty 30 days.

You must go get your personal property within the first thirty 30 days or your landlord can throw it out or sell it. Only if you do not contact your landlord within ten 10 days of being evicted, then your landlord may throw out or sell your personal property. Your landlord cannot charge you anything for coming to get your personal property if you do it within the first ten 10 days.

But, your landlord may charge you the cost of storing the property if you come after the first ten 10 days. The law often changes. Each case is different. This pamphlet is meant to give you general information and not to give you specific legal advice. Please use the information found in this brochure carefully since the law is constantly changing and the information may not accurately show any changes in the law that occurred after the creation and publication of the brochure.

Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. This resource acts as a guide to resources available to persons suffering from the effects of Hurricane Ida in Pennsylvania. Subscribe to PALawHelp.