Move-In Before Evicting Tenant - Landlord Forum thread

Move-In Before Evicting Tenant by Anonymous on June 15, 2012 @11:34

If a tenant remains in a property beyond the terms of the lease, can the LL personally move into the property before evicting the tenant?

My issue is the following:

While I am aware that a formal eviction is necessary to REMOVE the tenant from the property, I have an obligation to be out of my current residence at the end of the month. Since I personally am moving into my other rental property, do I have a legal right to move into MY property if the tenant decides they are going to overstay the lease? It seems to me that the tenant's legal right to the exclusive use of the property ends when the lease expires. Are there any example cases where this has happened?

Thanks for the help!

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Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant by Micah on June 15, 2012 @11:41	[ Reply ]

An interesting question. Why would you want to expose your personal belongings to someone that you are evicting?! As long as they are there they are in possession and are on the hook for rent. What is the old saying, possession is 9/10 of the law.

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant by Jake on June 15, 2012 @12:12	[ Reply ]

You will be arrested and possibly beaten by the tenant before a restraining order put on you.

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant by Anonymous on June 15, 2012 @14:23	[ Reply ]

These people aren't kidding you. You cannot take possession until you have the legal right to do so - even if you "own" the place. Perhaps if you tell your tenant that you will file for eviction the first day you possibly can and it will trash his credit. He will have trouble renting a new place among other problems. You need to put your stuff in storage and find a short stay hotel until he clears out legally. I know it stinks and this is how tenants cost us time and money with their shenanigans. You really don't want to try this and end up in jail.

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant by OK-LL on June 17, 2012 @11:12	[ Reply ]

Very few posting in this forum are qualified to provide you with the legal advice you are seeking -- references to statutes, etc. The info you seek is contained in the real estate law of your state and deals with property rights, and uses terms such as dominant and servient estates. A review of your state law will reveal that you cannot provide any aspect of possession to another party and then violate that possession for your own purposes. You will also discover that while you may have equitable interest in the property while another possesses it, you cannot regain legal interest in the property against a possessor without a court judgment. Go figure, laws are established to avoid the type of chaos you would set up by moving into a property currently in the possession of another. And no, I won't give you chapter and verse where you can find these principles and concepts in your state law, because I believe in you paying for your education and free enterprise for lawyers. Good luck.

Re: Move-In Before Evicting Tenant by Kathy (WI) on June 18, 2012 @21:32	[ Reply ]

Is this a SFH? If so no you cannot move in. Is this a multi-family dwelling with an empty unit then you can use the unit that is not leased/rented to the other party. I had a situation where we had an empty apartment and went to work on it and the downstairs tenant who was not paying and being evicted threatened to call the police on me for trespassing. I told them to go ahead and call because I have the right to access my other apartment. The police laughed at them and asked them who they think owns the building?