Eviction: How to Do it Without an Attorney

I successfully evicted a tenant recently. If you’re in Chicago, let me give you some information about what I did and how you can attempt to do it yourself if you want to save lawyer expenses.

First, a disclaimer. I am an attorney, but this post is for information purposes only. Consult a qualified attorney to verify what’s said here. I disclaim any responsibility should you follow my advice and fail miserably.

My wife and I have had issues with the woman on the second floor of one of our buildings for most of the time we lived there. She was loud, irresponsible, dirty, and pretty much annoying to us and the other tenants. She even had a little dog that never saw the sun. The tenant kept the dog tied up to a bedroom door all day long. Guess where its waste went.

Nearly all of the tenant’s rent was paid by Sec. 8, $850 of the $950 rent. We bought the building in March, and she was already living there, so we didn’t have the opportunity to screen her. Her lease was up October 25th. I had notified her in mid-September that we wouldn’t be renewing her lease. I even was taking the unit off Sec. 8. The last few days before her lease was up, I began to get concerned that she wasn’t going to leave on time. I got a call only three days before the lease was up from a new landlord. Apparently she began her new apartment search very late.

So, the morning of the 26th she was still there along with her dirty dog and all of her things. I confronted her and demanded that she leave. She said Sec. 8 told her to stay. I called Sec. 8 to see what the heck was going on and they said my only recourse was to evict her. Apparently if a Sec. 8 tenant leaves an apartment and has a gap where they don’t go into another Sec. 8 apartment, they lose their benefit. I had notified the tenant six weeks earlier to find a new place, and she started looking a week before her lease was up, so I really couldn’t care less whether she lost her benefits. Someone needed to teach her a little personal responsibility, right?

Anyway, I decided to go ahead and evict her. I figured it would be a good learning experience. I thought I’d get damages (the lease said if she overstayed her lease, she owed me three times the daily rent). And, you know, I was just pissed at her.

In Chicago, the controlling law is the Chicago Landlord Tenant Ordinance. Luckily for me, this didn’t apply in my situation. One of the exceptions is six unit or smaller buildings that are owner-occupied. Ours is four units and my wife and I live on the first floor. What did this mean? Basically, we didn’t have to give certain notices, and the Illinois law applied. This worked out well for us, because we could evict her right away and we didn’t have to serve her with any notices, which would otherwise be required. Here is why you should consult an attorney if you don’t completely understand the process. If you screw something up, the judge will make you re-file your case, which will take time and cost money.

So, I went down to the circuit clerk’s office, filed a complaint and a summons, paid about $250, and then gave the summons to the sheriff to serve to the tenant. I chose the earliest court date, Nov. 13, which was about two weeks after I filed, and then waited. In order to show up for court, the tenant must pay an appearance fee, which is $133. I figured she wouldn’t show. On Nov. 13, I went up to the courthouse, waited my turn to plead my case and, sure enough, she showed up. I told the judge I was the landlord and she had overstayed her lease. I gave him a copy of the lease. He wanted to know where my notice was, and I had to explain to him that the statute didn’t require notice. A tip here: the judge knows the law but goes through the papers so quick that he doesn’t pay attention to them. Make sure you’re ready to explain the law to him.

The judge then asked the tenant if she needed an attorney. She said she didn’t. Mistake here also, she could have milked me for another week or two if she would have said she needed to consult with one. Then the judge asked her if she understood what was going on. She said she did and then told the judge that Sec. 8 told her not to move. The judge told her to bite it, and told her to move within two weeks. The judge also refused to award me damages, even though the lease required it. Thank you non-strict constructionist judges…So, I won, but I didn’t really win much. I had to fill out a form that listed what the judge said, have him sign it, and then turn it back into the Circuit Clerk.

What did I learn? Well, judges are going to do as much as they can for the tenant. I think in the future I’m going to put a section in the lease, in large bold lettering, that in the case of eviction, the tenant will pay court costs, attorney fees, and damages. Hopefully a future judge would pay a little more respect to that.

Let me give you a resource as well. The Illinois Legal Aid Web site should answer any eviction questions you may have. It includes all the forms you need, including the notices, complaint, and summons, and tells you what to do. Even with what’s listed there, you’ll still find the process confusing the first time. Don’t be afraid to ask the circuit clerk for help. And, if you’re unsure at all, don’t chance messing up, hire an attorney.

Don’t forget, Sec. 8 hates you, judges give tenants the benefit of the doubt, and you can prevent having to go through an eviction by screening your potential tenants better than I did.

Reference:

• www.associatedcontent.com/article/1529315/real_estate_investing_using_myspace.html?ca