When a tenant defaults in the payment of rent, the landlord may sue for the rent due and possession of the property. When bringing a Rent & Possession action you must:
- Send a notice and demand for the rent due to the tenant unless rent is behind by six (6) months or more
- File a petition for Rent & Possession in the County in which the property is located
- If the property is owned by a company, an attorney must file the petition
- Petition must contain the address of the premises, the terms of the rental agreement, the amount of rent actually due, allege that demand for rent was made, and that the tenant failed to
- Petition must be verified and notarized
- Once the court date is set for an initial trial hearing, you must serve the tenant personally or by posting a notice on the tenant’s door
- Personal service can be made by the sheriff delivering a copy of the summons and petition to the tenant or a person at tenant’s home over the age of 15
- If you don’t personally serve you may post, however, if you only post and the tenant does not appear in court the landlord will get possession of the property only and a separate action must be brought to collect the rent owed
- Appear for the trial
- If the tenant does not show for trial, the landlord can get a default judgment for possession of the property and for rent due (only if tenant was personally served)
- Landlord and tenant can enter into a consent judgment then the court will not enter a judgment against the tenant and it will not appear as a judgment on the tenant’s credit report
- If the tenant fails to abide by the consent judgment then the landlord is entitled to an immediate judgment without having to go back to court
Note:
If the tenant pays the rent due, plus court costs, on or before the day of court, the action will be dismissed. If the landlord accepts any of the rent due after the time the action was filed, his claim for possession is waived, but he can still go to court for his action for rent due at the time the action was brought.
The Landlord can have his case continued or dismissed for the following reasons:
- If the landlord asks for more rent than is actually due
- If the landlord asks for any damages in the petition besides the rent due and any late fees or charges set out in the written lease, except damage to the property
- If it is not brought in the correct name of the owner of the property, or if there are more than one owner and each owner is not named in the petition
- A landlord cannot refuse to accept rent from the tenant when it is due, and then sue for Rent & Possession
Please Contact Us for a free consultation regarding Rent & Possession cases!