I had a call from a lady this morning and she said she received an “eviction” notice from her landlord. After listening to the lady’s story it became clear that she hadn’t received an eviction notice but rather an “end of term” notice. It’s a common misconception on the part of both tenants and landlords about what an eviction really is. An eviction occurs after a resident is unlawfully detaining the rental. In other words they were given a notice of some sort (3-day pay or vacate, 30 day notice to vacate, etc…) and they failed to follow the terms of the notice which in many cases means they didn’t move out. Once the resident is unlawfully detaining the rental then the landlord can file for an eviction with the courts. If the landlord prevails in court then an order of restitution is granted and the resident can be forcibly removed from the rental if they don’t leave voluntarily. Residents need to understand that landlords have the option to end a lease just like the resident does. When the lease expires the landlord is under no obligation to re-rent to the person again. Just like the renter has the option to move somewhere else, the landlord has the right to ask the renter to move. Simply having lived there for the last few years doesn’t mean the rental is yours. If the landlord wants you to move, you’ll have to move.
Published: June 6, 2016
