Tenant Eviction Laws

• Tenant eviction laws contain written protections for both tenants and landlords.apartment mailboxes image by Aaron Kohr from Fotolia.com
  
  The Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act was passed in 1972 by the United States government as part of the civil rights movement and to address landlord and tenant inequities. The American Bar Association followed suit by adopting the act in 1974. All states have landlord tenant statutes that are based on the URLT. There are rules and requirements in place to protect both the landlord and the tenant in regard to evictions and other issues.
  
  

Reasons for Eviction

• A landlord can evict a tenant for failure to pay rent, violating a lease agreement, not paying a security deposit, criminal or civil destruction of private property and likewise if the tenant is caught engaging in criminal activity on the premises. Many states have statutes in place protecting tenants from eviction if they pay back rent and from any penalties resulting from the late payment of rent.
  
  

Eviction Notices

• Landlords must provide written notification to tenants of an impending eviction, including any steps the tenant can take to cancel the action. Some jurisdictions allow landlords to post written eviction notices on the premises as long as they are easy to read and in plain sight, while other jurisdictions require that eviction notices be mailed or hand delivered to the tenant. Statutes vary as to the length of time a tenant has to vacate the premises after an eviction notice has been served.
  
  

Tenant Foreclosure Protection

• As a result of the forced evictions of tenants living in homes and other properties placed in default or foreclosure, President Obama signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act on May 20, 2010. One requirement under the new law is that landlords, banks, savings and loans companies, and other lenders must give tenants ninety days to find other living accommodations.
  
  

Prohibited Tenant Evictions

• Federal law protects tenants in public or private housing if a landlord tries to evict them for having a physical or mental disability. This includes veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), persons with bi-polar disorder, and those with an anxiety disorder. A tenant cannot be evicted for filing a report against a landlord for violation of Housing Codes, for filing a tenant lawsuit against the landlord for discriminatory practices, or for other acts of landlord misconduct.