eviction - need help

[Joebagel]

I own a home and rent out rooms in the house. I now have one guy that refuses to pay. I have read online about maryland's eviciton laws but most of them seemed to be directed a whole house rentals, not just room rentals. Does anyone have any advice or someone i can call for advice?
thanks

 

[TwistedDiamond]

I own a home and rent out rooms in the house. I now have one guy that refuses to pay. I have read online about maryland's eviciton laws but most of them seemed to be directed a whole house rentals, not just room rentals. Does anyone have any advice or someone i can call for advice?
thanks

The eviction laws that pertain to whole house rentals are the same as room rentals within a house. You have to give the tenant 30 days notice, and then after that, legal action can be taken, sheriff can be called, etc.

*Be sure to document date the eviction notice was given

 

[lam2]

I would mail the eviction notice "return receipt requested". That way he has to sign for it and there will be no question that he received it.

 

[Deneen]

I own a home and rent out rooms in the house. I now have one guy that refuses to pay. I have read online about maryland's eviciton laws but most of them seemed to be directed a whole house rentals, not just room rentals. Does anyone have any advice or someone i can call for advice?
thanks

I just recently went through the eviction process with a horrible renter. Laws are the same as the other poster mentioned. Visit the courthouse and they will give you the information you need to carry out the process. First thing to do is send a letter, certified to the occupant. Give him 30 days notice to vacate and clearly establish in the letter any past due rent plus late fees as noted in your agreement. (Hopefully, you have an agreement.) Then visit the courthouse and file a claim. You can do that immediately. This simply enforces your notice that he has 30 days and needs to pay you. You will be given a court date that will grant you your claim and allows you to file for a formal eviction after 5 business days. Do this immediately, it takes a couple months to get him OUT. If he doesn't pay, you can followup with further "small claims" for any damages. Unless he goes to court and provides evidence of payment. You win. Cost is minimum.

 

[angel2202003]

I went through this @ 12 years ago with a renter. I sent him the letter, went to court, won the case and the Judge set s judgement against the man. I never did get my money from him because in order to get the judgement I would have had to garnish his wages and I could not find out where he was working. (He was a painter). So with all the court costs and judgement I was out @ 900.00. Good luck with your case.

 

[Tilted]

If you are evicting them for failure to pay, you don't have to give them notice - but the process will probably take 2-4 weeks. Go to the court clerk in the District Court building and tell them that you want to request a judgment for repossession. Ask them to explain the process to you - I could try to explain it, but it has been a while since I did it, and it may have changed some.

To begin with, you will have to fill out a form and I believe pay a small fee - so have your checkbook with you. But, be aware, if at any time during the process they pay the rent that is past due, they will be allowed to stay. In that case, you will have to do what others have suggested and give them notice that you want them to leave.

 

[sockgirl77]

Was there a lease? Have they lived there longer than 6 months? If the answer to both of these is no then you can just boot them out without a notice. If there was not a lease but they've lived there longer than 6 months than you must give them an eviction notice with 30 days to vacate. After 6 months they have established residency in your home. If they have not lived there 6 months but you have a list, you must evict them thru court.

 

[dn0121]

Change the bedroom lock and set his stuff on the curb. No money for rent, no money for lawsuit. If there is no renters agreement then you're all set.

 

[Tilted]

Was there a lease? Have they lived there longer than 6 months? If the answer to both of these is no then you can just boot them out without a notice. If there was not a lease but they've lived there longer than 6 months than you must give them an eviction notice with 30 days to vacate. After 6 months they have established residency in your home. If they have not lived there 6 months but you have a list, you must evict them thru court.

But, he's talking about evicting them for failure to pay. In that case, you don't have to give them a 30 day notice, you can do a summary ejectment. The sheriff's department will give them notice to appear in court to answer the request for judgment for repossession (but they almost never show up and the judgment is ordered by default).

This is the case if there was any agreement to pay rent, which there seems to have been, even if there wasn't a written lease.

 

[Tilted]

Change the bedroom lock and set his stuff on the curb. No money for rent, no money for lawsuit. If there is no renters agreement then you're all set.

That's likely to open him up to civil liability. It doesn't matter if there was a written agreement, there seems to have been some agreement to rent the room to this person. You can't just deny people access to their domicile, even if they are 6 months past due. You have to either give them notice and go through the proper eviction process, or get a judgment for non-payment and go through the proper eviction process. Of course, they can also agree to leave voluntarily - but you can't try to coerce them to by turning off the electricity, harassing them, etc.

 

[SoMDGirl42]

That's likely to open him up to civil liability. It doesn't matter if there was a written agreement, there seems to have been some agreement to rent the room to this person. You can't just deny people access to their domicile, even if they are 6 months past due. You have to either give them notice and go through the proper eviction process, or get a judgment for non-payment and go through the proper eviction process. Of course, they can also agree to leave voluntarily - but you can't try to coerce them to by turning off the electricity, harassing them, etc.

or you can go to the courthouse and tell them you had a gay domestic relationship, he's abused you, you fear for your life and have a protection order placed against him.

It'll get him out

 

[sockgirl77]

But, he's talking about evicting them for failure to pay. In that case, you don't have to give them a 30 day notice, you can do a summary ejectment. The sheriff's department will give them notice to appear in court to answer the request for judgment for repossession (but they almost never show up and the judgment is ordered by default).

This is the case if there was any agreement to pay rent, which there seems to have been, even if there wasn't a written lease.

If there was a lease they need 3 judgements against them to evict them. If there was not a lease and they've been there 6 months they need to give them a 30 day eviction notice. I used to do this for a living. You're more than welcome to check the courthouse and any civil lawyer and ask.

 

[Tilted]

If there was a lease they need 3 judgements against them to evict them. If there was not a lease and they've been there 6 months they need to give them a 30 day eviction notice. I used to do this for a living. You're more than welcome to check the courthouse and any civil lawyer and ask.

I know that and that's why I said in my first post that if they paid the rent at any point in the process, they would be allowed to stay. But, you can evict them for failure to pay without giving them a notice. Once you start the process they will either have to pay you, or you will be able to evict them. I too did this many, many times.

 

[sockgirl77]

I know that and that's why I said in my first post that if they paid the rent at any point in the process, they would be allowed to stay. But, you can evict them for failure to pay without giving them a notice. Once you start the process they will either have to pay you, or you will be able to evict them. I too did this many, many times.

IF they have been there longer than 6 months you MUST give them 30 days to vacate in the state of MD if there is no lease in effect. If there is a lease you MUST get 3 judgements against them. Then you may evict them with the court order.

 

[ShoeQueen77]

IF they have been there longer than 6 months you MUST give them 30 days to vacate in the state of MD if there is no lease in effect. If there is a lease you MUST get 3 judgements against them. Then you may evict them with the court order.

The 3 judgment thing is only for a non-redeemable judgment. You can get a redeemable judgment on the first judgment. Just means if they pay, they stay. After 3 judgments, you can get non-redeemable (absolute) judgment on the 4th judgment. Then even if they pay, you can evict. One small mistake in this process can cost you alot of time. I would get a lawyer. It's worth the money.

 

[Blowpop]

If there was a lease they need 3 judgements against them to evict them. If there was not a lease and they've been there 6 months they need to give them a 30 day eviction notice. I used to do this for a living. You're more than welcome to check the courthouse and any civil lawyer and ask.

you used to go from place to place, not pay, and wait til you were evicted? that sucks more than my blowpop

 

[sockgirl77]

you used to go from place to place, not pay, and wait til you were evicted? that sucks more than my blowpop

Wrong. I was a rental manager for awhile. I have also helped family members with their legal battles. NEVER rent to anyone without a lease.

 

[Cowgirl]

NEVER rent to anyone without a lease.

And never rent FROM anyone without a lease.

 

[Tilted]

IF they have been there longer than 6 months you MUST give them 30 days to vacate in the state of MD if there is no lease in effect. If there is a lease you MUST get 3 judgements against them. Then you may evict them with the court order.

You are talking about the tenants right to redeem the premises after the judgment for repossession, and before the actual eviction is complete, by paying what is due according to the judgment. As I said, if they pay that amount at any time before the eviction is completed (up to and including the moment that you move their last item out of the premises), then you can not evict them. If they do not pay that amount, then you can evict them. If you get three separate judgments for repossession within 12 months, then they lose the right to redeem the premises - so even if they pay the money before the eviction is completed, you can still evict them.

In theory, the process can take as little as two weeks - but it usually takes a little longer. You get a judgment for repossession. Then, you get a warrant for restitution. Then, you schedule the eviction with the Sheriff's Department. If they do not pay what is owed, you can evict them. I have done it numerous times. I have had them pay the rent and stay, and I have also had them not pay it and get evicted.

I'm not arguing about this just to argue. I am absolutely positive about it. I've had it explained to me by the District Court's clerks, and by the Sheriff's Deputy who was in charge of handling evictions - and as I said, I have done it multiple times with a deputy standing there supervising. I also just checked the Maryland Attorney General's site to confirm that it hasn't changed.

Perhaps your rental business issued notices just to be on the safe side, but you do not need to if the basis for eviction is failure to pay - it is called summary ejectment.

 

[sockgirl77]

You are talking about the tenants right to redeem the premises after the judgment for repossession, and before the actual eviction is complete, by paying what is due according to the judgment. As I said, if they pay that amount at any time before the eviction is completed (up to and including the moment that you move their last item out of the premises), then you can not evict them. If they do not pay that amount, then you can evict them. If you get three separate judgments for repossession within 12 months, then they lose the right to redeem the premises - so even if they pay the money before the eviction is completed, you can still evict them.

In theory, the process can take as little as two weeks - but it usually takes a little longer. You get a judgment for repossession. Then, you get a warrant for restitution. Then, you schedule the eviction with the Sheriff's Department. If they do not pay what is owed, you can evict them. I have done it numerous times. I have had them pay the rent and stay, and I have also had them not pay it and get evicted.

I'm not arguing about this just to argue. I am absolutely positive about it. I've had it explained to me by the District Court's clerks, and by the Sheriff's Deputy who was in charge of handling evictions - and as I said, I have done it multiple times with a deputy standing there supervising. I also just checked the Maryland Attorney General's site to confirm that it hasn't changed.

Perhaps your rental business issued notices just to be on the safe side, but you do not need to if the basis for eviction is failure to pay - it is called summary ejectment.

Dear God we don't even know the story here. I typed what I know based on facts and based on the assumption that there was no lease involved. If there were she would not be on here asking questions. She'd know a little about the laws.