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The theme of Lessons From Eviction Court is typically the same: pay attention to details. Landlords really don’t have to prove very much in order to win evictions involving non-payment of rent. In most cases, you only have to prove that: The tenant is in possession of the rental unit The tenant has failed to pay rent that was due The tenant was given proper notice that he or she would be evicted if rent was not paid in full within a certain time frame; and The tenant failed to tender the full payment within the proper time frame However,...

                   Earlier this week, we looked at a situation involving a property manager (Holly from The Calipari Resort) who was approached by a prospective resident who requested that her support animal be exempt from the community’s no-pet policy as an accommodation for her disability. The main thing that we learned was that a tenant with a disability is entitled to such accommodations as long as the accommodation does not (1) create an undue financial or administrative burden or (2) fundamentally alter the nature of the landlord’s business.          ...

          The lesson from my last post was to make sure to name every adult occupying the rental unit in your eviction complaint. Today, I have a short follow up: make sure you take the names of the occupants directly from the lease agreement, and use the same spelling as is used in the lease agreement. Close may count in horseshoes (should this reference be updated to “cornhole”?) and hand grenades, but not usually in legal matters.              As noted in the last post, winning evictions is about attention to detail....

                   Holly is the new property manager at a brand new luxury apartment community, The Calipari Resort. Holly’s new leasing agent is doing a fantastic job of filling the few remaining vacancies in the community. Everyone at the community seems very excited about the new rental units and amenities. One afternoon, the leasing agent asks to meet with Holly about a prospective resident. During the meeting, the prospective resident explains how excited she is to find such a wonderful community, but was told by the leasing agent that the community has a...

          Winning eviction cases is all about attention to detail. The goal of an eviction case is to regain possession of the rental unit. Collection of unpaid rent or other fees is separate and must be pursued in a separate action. In order to be sure that you gain the right to regain possession of the property from all other persons, you should be sure to identify every adult listed on the lease agreement in your eviction complaint. It doesn’t matter if the person is listed as “tenant”, “resident”, “occupant”, “lease holder”, “head of household”, or...