When and How to Evict Your Tenant
Category Advice
Let's start by disclosing that an eviction and lease cancellation is not the same thing. Where cancelling your contract is a civil agreement between both parties, the eviction must be lawfully conducted in court with an attorney.
When should you consider evicting your tenant?
Simply put, when a tenant is in breach of contract, you have good reason to start thinking about eviction.
Failing to maintain the property, keeping pets without permission, or stirring complaints from neighbours are all justified reasons for eviction. The most common breach, and the one that could have the greatest impact on you, is your tenant's failure to pay rent on time.
By law, you are required to give your tenant a written warning making them aware of the breach. They then have 20 working days (if not stated otherwise in the contract) to rectify the problem.
If the issue is not resolved, you are entitled to give 1 month's notice of lease cancellation where the tenant is given the opportunity to peacefully vacate the property. If the tenant disregards the notice, you will have no choice but to start the eviction process.
How do you go about the eviction process?
If it has come to eviction, you're going to want to get the process done as smoothly and quickly as possible.
At this point, an application can be submitted to the court for an official eviction notice. It is unlawful to carry out an eviction without a court order. Only an attorney can start the legal process of applying for an eviction order at a court of law/magistrates court. However, you can assist the attorney by ensuring the notice is issued correctly and that there is a clear record of all correspondence.
Once your tenant has been deemed an unlawful occupier, he/she will then have the opportunity to oppose this by a given deadline, if they wish to do so. If the occupier doesn't leave by the deadline, the authorities have the duty to remove them along with their belongings. Don't make the mistake of getting involved in the physical eviction process. If you decide to take matters into your own hands, you could face serious consequences yourself.
Evictions cannot be carried out under the National State of Disaster lockdown regulations. You and your attorney can still apply, but an eviction will only be carried out when lockdown is lifted.
Eviction is something you resort to when all other options have been exhausted. It can get messy and stressful. If you don't feel equipped to handle the situation yourself, we can manage the situation on your behalf.
Author: SAproperty.com
