Eviction Trends

Since the New Year, a disturbing rise in eviction notices has emerged nationwide, especially in America's lower class ethnic neighborhoods. In Milwaukee, for instance, eviction in lower class black neighborhoods has reached ten percent. Consulting with an eviction attorney I was even more surprised with what was going on in my local community.

The eviction process has very specific legal requirements. All tenants and landlords should be aware of them before even considering the eviction process.

First, the landlord must try to work out a payment plan. Very often, tenants really do want to pay their rent; they are simply unable. Negotiations must take place between the landlord and tenant.

If those payments absolutely cannot be made and the landlord decides to proceed with eviction, then an eviction notice must be served. The nature and requirements of the eviction are subject to change according to the terms of the lease, etc. However, a lawyer should be consulted at this stage. Eviction is an extremely dicey legal process, and should be followed to the letter. When an eviction is thrown out in court, it is most often as a result of an eviction notice that the courts determine was served in an illegal manner.

The litigation of the eviction process then begins. That is right: all evictions in Nassau and Suffolk Counties go to court, whether the tenant decides to show up or not. Every eviction is decided by a judge. If you are a tenant involved in an eviction case, it is advisable to consult a lawyer for your defense. Your landlord may have crossed a legal line while evicting in haste, and you may be entitled to have that eviction struck down.

If the eviction is won in court, then the physical process of eviction begins after a warrant and judgment is served. The Sheriff then serves the eviction notice.

Most of the time, the tenant will vacate before the eviction takes place. Sometimes, however, the dispute goes on and law enforcement is forced to remove the tenant from the property forcibly. In Suffolk County, the tenant's things are then removed from the property. County law requires that those things can be left on the street: be careful that this does not happen to you.

With evictions on the rise, landlords and tenants are involved increasingly in legal disputes that spill into the courts.