City of Takoma Park: Department of Housing and Community Development THE EVICTION PROCESS An eviction can be a painful, but necessary process for both a landlord and a tenant. It is the court ordered removal of the tenant and his/her belongings from a rental unit. An eviction may occur for any breach of the lease, including but not limited to non-payment of rent, noise or disorderly conduct, over occupancy or any use of the rental unit for illegal purposes. Most evictions take place for nonpayment of rent. The following represents the sequence of events that takes place before and during an eviction. 1. For any breach of the lease, the landlord is required to send the tenant a one-month notice to vacate, which clearly states the material breach for which the tenancy is being terminated. Sometimes the tenant may cure the breach thereby making it unnecessary to file in court. For nonpayment of rent, the one-month notice is not required and the landlord can proceed directly into court. 2. The landlord would file suit in the District Court in the county where the rental property is located stating the reasons for requesting payment and/or repossession of the rental unit. 3. The court would assign a court date and issue the tenant a summons to appear in court. The Sheriff's Office mails one copy of the notice to the tenant and attempts to personally serve the other copy. If the tenant can not be found, the summons is tacked to the tenant's door. A copy of the notice is then returned to the court showing that one was mailed and the other served or tacked to the door of the tenant. 4. The tenant should appear in court or risk having a judgment rendered by the judge awarding possession of the rental unit to the landlord. A tenant can represent himself with or without an attorney. Following the hearing, the judge will decide whether the landlord is entitled to repossession. Please note that failure to pay rent because a landlord is not providing a service or has failed to do repairs is not usually considered a legitimate reason to withhold rent. A tenant must file in court to request that rent be put into an escrow account to have this issue addressed in court. (over) 5. If the judge grants possession of the rental unit to the landlord, the tenant has a two-day period to either vacate or in the case of nonpayment of rent, pay all court-ordered debts to the landlord. 6. If the tenant takes neither action, the landlord may request the judge issue a writ of restitution which is sent to the Sheriff's Office for processing. 7. The Sheriff's Office will then contact the landlord to determine if the tenant has moved out or whether the money ordered by the court has been paid. If neither has taken place, the actual eviction will be scheduled. For tenants who have had three previous judgments, payment of the monies owed will not necessarily stop the eviction if absolute judgment has been ordered by the court. 8. On the date of the scheduled eviction, a Deputy Sheriff will meet the landlord at the site. The Deputy Sheriff will enter the unit and request that all persons present leave so that the eviction can be carried out. The landlord or his/her employees then has the right to remove all property from the unit and place it on the public right-of-way while the Deputy Sheriff supervises. 9. The local police may make routine checks, as time permits, in an effort to protect the tenant's property, however once the property is on the street, the tenant is responsible for their security and transportation to another location. For further information regarding the eviction process, please contact the Department of Housing and Community Development at 270-5900.