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.