Why Self Help Evictions Are Bad
Self help eviction is when you take your own actions to kick out a tenant without going through the courts. There are procedures you have to go through with the court and that is the only legal way you can evict a tenant.
A self help eviction is any one of the following actions to remove a non-paying tenant from your home: changing the locks to prevent the tenant from entering your property, threatening the tenant, turning off vital utility services, and remove a tenant’s personal property.
You must not threaten self help eviction on your tenant like threatening to change the locks or to shut off the power. In most States there are clear statutes that prohibit threats of self help eviction.
If you are dragged into court for a self help eviction, the judge won’t care that the tenants were behind on the rent. If the tenant is in possession of the premises, and you want him out, and he won’t leave, you have to go through the correct procedures with the court.
Do not even think about engaging in a self help eviction. There have been many cases where a landlord removed a tenant’s personal property and put it on the sidewalk or even in the trash. A judge could easily award your non-paying tenant with a 20,000 dollars damages award. Most judges will not require the tenant to produce receipts for his belongings because such proof of purchase could have been disposed of in the lock out.
There is also a law you can be sued under called the common law intentional torts of conversion. This is simply fancy legal wording that means the exercise of control over an item in a manner inconsistent with the rights of its owner which permanently deprives the owner of its value. You can also be sued for trespass to chattels which means which is the same as the law above but which temporarily deprives the owner of its value. And of course you can be sued for trespass which is the unlawful entry upon the property of another enjoying right to possession. Because these claims for relief are intentional torts, if court can award not only nominal damages, but punitive damages plus attorney fees as well.
Take a look at WILLIAM SPANO v. HANNA ABDALLA South Carolina Superior Court (October 3, 2002) Hanna Abdulla engaged in the act of self help eviction by changing the locks and removing William Spano’s personal property from the premise to the sidewalk. Hanna Abdulla’s defense was that she thought the tenant had abandoned the premises (she should have posted an abandonment notice but she did not). The court was not convinced that she was telling the truth and awarded Spano 1,800 dollars for the three months of rent expense he incurred to live elsewhere. The court further awarded 1,200 dollars in punitive damages and attorneys fees.
In the case of Gordon v. Morris, 2001 Ohio App. (February 2, 2001) the landlord changed the locks just before the end of the month upon learning that the tenants had shut off the utilities and removed most of their belongings. The trial court awarded the tenants only 96 dollars in actual damages (they had paid rent through the end of the month but were deprived of the use of the apartment, and this was the prorated amount). But the trial court further awarded 1,000 dollars in punitive damages and 1,462 dollars in attorneys fees.
I often hear owners complain that the courts are siding with the tenant and not owners. This is simply not true. The courts are not siding with non-paying tenants. What the courts are doing is trying to prevent violence in our society that frequently occurs over the struggle for the possession of land. Think about this. If it was legal for a landlord to turn off the electricity or to change the locks, that same tenant could turn violent and club you to death. While on the surface it might seem like the courts are on the side of the tenant, they are actually protecting you. Just follow the court approved procedure for evicting a tenant and you’ll be fine. If you don’t know the legal way to evict a tenant, then hire the surfaces of a professional property management company.
I hope this article helps you with renting your house out. If you desire additional assistance and own a house in Fresno and Clovis, California, see Fresno property management
