If the tenant stops paying rent and the court agrees with the landlord that the tenant has violated the lease by not making the rent payment, the court will award possession to the landlord.  This means that the landlord can break the lease and take back possession of the apartment.  No where in that process (at least in the states that I know) does anything happen that could put something on your credit report.  This is a civil case.  It is no different that if you get a speeding ticket.  That ticket does not affect your credit (although it may affect your car insurance premium).

A landlord may chose to take the eviction to the next step and get a judgement against the tenant for the amount of money owed.  If that happens, then it does affect your credit score.  This is the same as if someone sues you for something and wins.  They have a judgement against you for the amount of money they were asking for.  That judgement will appear on your credit.

To remove an eviction from your credit, you need to remove the judgement from your credit report.  Most of the time, this requires that you come to some agreement with the person that put the judgement on your credit.  You most likely will have to pay them the amount owed.  Once you do this, you can have them file another motion in court to remove the judgement against you.  Another  less desirable way to remove a judgement would be to file bankruptcy, but that is a discussion beyond the scope of this website.

We had a tenant who walked on her lease.  She wanted to end her lease early, we told her that we could not do that.  She then said the apartment was making her ill and gave us notice on 12/20 to move out on 1/20.  We told her that her claim was not justified and that she would still be responsible for the lease.  we also said we would try to rent it. 1/1/2012 she left text that she was leaving and would leave rent and paperwork in rent box.  she did not.  what are our options?  we don’t know her fowarding address.  do we file a UD?  thanks

My response to her was probably not what she wanted to hear.  Unfortunately, there is not much a landlord can do when a tenant is determined to break the lease.  You can still file and serve an eviction if the tenant bails and you cannot find them – service is by mail and posting.

A copy of the eviction action summons and complaint gets mailed to the property address (even though you know that are not there), and the process server serves by posting on the property at least 7 days prior to the hearing date (two failed attempts at personal service, then the summons and complaint get posted on the property).  The required affidavits get filed with the court (Affidavit of Not Found, Affidavit of Posting, Affidavit of Mailing, Affidavit of Plaintiff’s Attorney).  This is what is required for service of process in order for the court to have jurisdiction to sign the eviction order when the defendant cannot be found in an eviction action.

Tenants have the right to possession of the property until their rights are terminated by the court – even if they break their lease early.  As such, some landlords will go through eviction process just to make sure the tenant does not come back in a month and say “who is in my property?”  In addition, the eviction will show on the tenant’s record for future landlords.  Ultimately, all this will get you is the satisfaction that she now has an unlawful detainer on her record.  This may help warn other landlords about this tenant (and give you the satisfaction that she will have a harder time in the future finding an apartment).  This is not going to get your apartment rented faster or make you any money.  So, why would you spend $500-$1000?

One other option is to take her to small claims (or conciliation) court.  The cost to file a claim there is cheaper ($70).  If the claim is less than $2500, the court will actually mail a letter to the tenant about the court date.

If you chose to simply move on and re-rent the apartment, you should document all the details about this tenant moving out and breaking the lease.  Write down everything including dates, times and all communication.  Put this into the file along with her application and lease.  Then if this tenant ever comes back to sue you claiming they left possessions in the property or that you actually pushed them out, you have documentation to fight with.

I hate to tell you , but if you are a landlord long enough, you will have a tenant break their lease on you unexpectedly.  It is unfortunate, but there is not much you can do.  My best advice is to simply and quickly get over it and move on.

The most common reason to use the 3 day notice is to inform the tenant that they must pay rent and that if they do not, you as the landlord/owner intend to file an eviction.  This rent payment notice must follow the below guidelines:

• An actual demand for the exact amount currently due.   This may include late fees, but sometimes this can simply complicate the issue and confuse the tenant so don’t add a trivial late fee like $30 and have to argue about it in court!  California judges seem to be very strict on this point, so it is better to be a little low on the total due than over.
• How and where to pay it (as a landlord, you can’t hide from the tenant to prevent them from paying it).
• A demand that if the rent is not paid within 3 days that the tenant vacates the property.
• The signature of the landlord and the date signed.
• The notice to pay must be served after any grace period has expired.

The 3 day notice may also include an “election of forfeiture of tenancy”.  This effectively means that no matter what the tenant does, you are cancelling their lease.  Without this language, the tenant could pay all the past due amounts and other fees and the landlord would be required to allow him to stay.  Now, this may be OK, but there are certainly many bad tenants that you don’t want to stay.

This notice must be formally served on the tenant by:

• Delivering a personal copy to the tenant
• Leaving a copy with an adult that lives at the premises or works at the business.
• Posting a copy in a conspicuous area.

If you do either of the last 2, you must also mail a copy of the documents to the last known address for the tenant.  I would send that via certified mail and I would document all the steps you went through (with dates and times) to show you made every effort to find and serve that tenant.  California judges (especially ones in San Francisco) seem to love to throw out cases when they see that the landlord was sloppy in the service of the 3 day notice to pay.  Don’t make it easy on the tenant!

After the 3 days have passed (I personally would wait 5 days to insure that again, you can demonstrate you have given ample time for the tenant to respond), you can move forward and file the eviction in California Superior Court.

I get many visitors from other states such as Florida, Texas, and California.  Obviously there is not great information on the internet about how to do an eviction in those states.  I did some research into what it takes to evict tenants in California for you.

Disclaimer:  This website is meant for informational purposes, only. The content is based upon my experiences and opinions on doing many Minnesota evictions.  I am not an attorney, CPA, nor expert. Different cities and states will also have different laws, ordinances, and customs regarding the landlord/tenant relationship.  Please consult a competent adviser.

Before starting your eviction process in California, understand that just like most jurisdictions, you as the landlord must follow every step perfectly or risk the judge throwing out your case on a technicality.  You will lose your filing fees and more importantly, you will need to start from scratch on evicting your tenant.

The California Landlord-Tenant Laws
The California Civil Code (“CCC”) and Code of Civil Procedure (“CCP”) contain the state’s entire Landlord-Tenant Code. A little-known fact is that these laws reflect a legislative compromise of sorts. To prevent frustrated landlords from resorting to destructive, disruptive self-help measures, the lawmakers have build the eviction process to be pretty quick and painless to settle disputes.  Because of this, a typical California eviction takes slightly less than one-tenth of the time that ordinary civil suits consume.  In order to benefit from these quicker process, the landlord must follow all the steps perfectly.

Step 1: Eviction Notice Preparation
Just about all valid California evictions start by serving a “3-Day Notice to Quit” on the delinquent tenant. Form 982.1(90) is California’s standardized Unlawful Detainer Complaint. Pursuant to CCP Section 1161(2), this notice to quit must contain:

• Date of notice;
• Signature of landlord or his/her duly authorized designee;
• An explicit demand for an exact sum of money;
• Complete instructions about where and how it must be paid; and,
• An unambiguous demand for immediate possession of the tenant fails to pay all past due amounts within three days of receiving this notice.

Step 2: Notice service
CCP Section 1162 allows 3-day notice service by:

• Personal delivery to the tenant;
• Delivery to any other adult of suitable discretion found upon the premises; or
• Conspicuous posting on the rented premises.

Landlords opting for service via either of the two latter methods must also mail of a full copy of the notice addressed to all lessees at the property’s street address.  Be careful on this step as many landlords will cut corners or not understand the process service.  While the statute does not spell it out, I recommend that you have a professional process server or sheriff deliver the documents.  That person should then sign an affidavit specifying when and where they served the document.  Bring this with you to court so that there is very little chance the tenant could claim that you did not serve them properly.

Step 3: Complaint Preparation
If the tenant fails to pay all past-due amounts by the 3-day deadline, the landlord must file a “Complaint” in the appropriate California Superior Court. All relevant details surrounding the situation must be fully and accurately stated on the eviction documents.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find an electronic copy of California eviction form on-line to link to.  A fee of $240.00 must accompany this filing.

Step 4: Summons issuance
Upon complaint filing and fee payment, the Superior Court Clerk will prepare and issue an Unlawful Detainer Form 982(a)(11) Summons. This document provides the tenant with official notice that an Unlawful Detainer action has commenced and how to respond to it.

Step 5: Service of Summons and Complaint
The Sheriff, a professional process server, or other non-interested legal adult must then serve the tenant with both the Summons and Complaint. State law allows the tenant five days within which to answer the Complaint.

The importance of doing the Summons and Complaint service properly cannot be overstated. In fact, this technicality is so essential that professional process service is virtually indispensable as I mentioned above.  While the California Landlord-Tenant law allows any mentally competent legal adult who has no interest in the litigation to execute service of process. Despite this, the cost of engaging an expert process server is minuscule when compared to the consequences of adverse court rulings due to legally defective notice to delinquent tenants.

Complaint contents
The Complaint is the formal document that initiates a lawsuit and informs other party(ies) and the Court of the specific legal grounds for the landlord’s claims and requested relief. Thus, strict procedural rules apply to its proper preparation and service. To avoid summary court dismissal, a complaint must contain, at a minimum:

• All surrounding circumstances leading up the claim(s) asserted;
• Method by which the 3-day notice was served and a copy thereof;
• A copy of the original lease or Rental Agreement;
• Itemized accounting of all delinquent amounts due; and,
• Formal request for judgment awarding full monetary compensation and immediate possession of the premises.

Experienced California landlords also serve a “Prejudgment Claim of Right to Possession” along with the Summons, Complaint, and any accompanying exhibits. This form negates any potential claims by unknown premise occupants.  In other words, if there is someone living in the property that you don’t know about (who is not on the lease), they can’t come back after the eviction and say that the eviction was invalid because the landlord did not notify them also.

Step 6: Trial demand
Roughly one-third of all California Unlawful Detainer suits go to trial. The means that the tenant must official protest forced removal from a rented home by filing an “Answer” to the landlord’s Complaint.  Fortunately, most tenants go through the process without an attorney and their “answers” represent mere attempts to stall. Consequently, most Answers are dismissed or otherwise resolved in the landlord’s favor.

After being served with a tenant’s Answer, the landlord must file a formal Request for Trial Setting by completing a standardized Judicial Council Form. By law, the trial must commence within 20 calendar days of the filing of this request.  In most cases, the judge is the sole case arbiter who hears all evidence presented at the trial. Occasionally, however, tenants demand trial by jury. In such cases, the landlord should immediately find a good eviction attorney.  This is not the time to try and figure this out alone.

Step 7: Pre-trial settlement conference
After either party files a Request for Trial, the court will usually schedule a “Settlement Conference.” This information meeting gives the parties a chance to attempt amicable dispute resolution via negotiation.  This may include a payment agreement or allowing the tenant to move out immediately.

Step 8: Eviction
After completing all the above steps, if the landlord wins his case, a California landlord may request a Writ of Possession. This court order gives the landlord the legal right to immediate repossession of the leased premises.  Most tenants are long gone at this point. In those rare instances involving persistent deadbeat occupants, the landlord must present the Writ of Possession to a local constable, marshal, or sheriff. That official will then physically evict all occupant(s) from the premises.

Petition for Default Judgment
If the tenant fails to respond to a properly served Summons and Complaint within the legally allotted time, the Court will issue a default judgment against the tenant(s) after the landlord fills out the Request for Entry of Default document.  Final Default Judgment entry precludes any subsequent tenant protest or defense presentation against the landlord’s initially allegations. It also automatically grants all legal relief the landlord initially requested.  Keep in mind that this judgement and the writ are only for taking back possession of the property.  It is NOT for getting your money back.

Writ of Garnishment
After regaining possession of their premises, landlords may request file a Declaration in Lieu of Personal Testimony.  This is essentially a summary of the eviction and other details to convince the judge to issue a judgement for the money owed.  Once you obtain this, you can file a Writ of Garnishment. This court order enforces all monetary judgment(s) by compelling employers to withhold a portion of the former tenant’s wages. Entry of either a Default Judgment or Writ of Garnishment in public records puts an immediate and severe blot on the tenant’s credit report for up to seven years.  Unfortunately, I have been told that getting a Declaration in Lieu of Personal Testimony is very difficult and if often rejected for trivial mistakes in the paperwork or the original court case.  There is a story of an attorney in San Francisco trying for 3 years to get a Declaration done with no success.

Most landlords will actually take a different tact.  Once they have possession of the property back, they will file a dismissal of the unlawful detainer and the go to small claims court to get a judgement against the deadbeat tenant.  The bar is much lower in that court and you will always have an opportunity to get a decision on your case (instead of the constant paperwork battle of a Declaration).  The biggest challenge with small claims court is finding that newly evicted tenant to serve them the court papers.

Evicting a tenant in California is very similar to the process in other states.  You need to follow the letter of the law closely and ask questions along the way.  Good luck!

1. Make sure you have a copy of their lease prior to closing.  If you are unsure or skeptical about the terms of the lease, have the existing landlord and tenant sign an estoppel letter stating the terms of the lease.  This is a simple letter that outlines what both the existing landlord and tenant believe the terms of the lease are, signed by both parties.  It eliminates the chance the landlord didn’t disclose some part of the agreement or that the tenant claims the terms were different.
2. In most cases, you will have to honor the existing lease that is in place.  This doesn’t prevent you, however, from attempting to sign a new lease with the existing tenant.  Just keep the lease terms the same, but tell them that you want to get the lease in your name.  Convince them of the benefit to them by extending the lease at the current terms.  They are not obligated to sign anything obviously, but hopefully they will.
3. Keep a close eye on the rent payments of these existing tenants.  The previous landlord may have said this tenant was fantastic and paid on-time each month.  I have seen this story more times that I can count that month 2 after you own this new property, the tenant starts missing rent payments or is late every month.  How you handle the late rent will set the tone for the rest of the relationship with this tenant.
4. If you have to evict, make sure to have all your ducks in a row since you may still be operating under a previous lease.  Even if this is not required in your jurisdiction, you may want to use an eviction letter to make sure you have fully spelled out for the tenant the seriousness of the late rent and your determination to do what it takes.

If you have a good tenant, life is pretty easy.  Your rent comes in on time, there are no police calls, and you can have a cordial relationship based upon mutual respect.  This type of tenant is generally going to treat your property better and stay longer.  On the other hand, a bad tenant can make being a landlord not only frustrating, but mentally exhausting.  Each month you are wondering if the tenant is going to pay rent on-time (if at all).  I find that my worst paying tenants are also the ones that complain the most and that abuse the property the worst.

Each time I do an eviction for myself, I try to do a post-mortem on the tenant/situation to see where I could have made a different decision that would have made me either not rent to this tenant or kept this situation ending up in an eviction.  I have found that more than 75% of the time, I should not have rented to this tenant if I was being true to my rental policies and would have taken a 2nd look at my renter’s background check.  Unfortunately, I am human.  I have moments of weakness or panic and lower my standards.  I found that when I lowered my standards these tenants turn out not pay rent eventually and end up in eviction.  I should have stuck to my policies and gut.

So let me outline for you what you should be doing to screen your tenants.  And maybe by doing that, I will reinforce to myself what I should be doing (nothing like a little introspection!):

Tenant screening does not start at the time you get a tenant check form.  I believe it starts on how you present the apartment/house for rent.  Is it clean?  Is it fixed up and look like a place you would like to live in?  Are you charging at least the average rent for this type of unit (hopefully a little more).  My experience has shown that tenants that will accept sub-standard places to live will  eventually have late rent payments and may eventually have to be evicted.  They essentially take the attitude that “If my landlord doesn’t care about this place to fix it up decent, then I don’t care either”.  Or they get an attitude that says:  ”My landlord is making all this money on me and not fixing up this dump so he won’t miss me not paying him”.

So what does mean for you and your property?  You don’t need to put in stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops in a $600 one bedroom apartment if that is not the norm.  Tenants really care most of about the house being clean and everything working.  Make sure the doors work well, the appliances are in good shape, and the plumbing does not have any issues.  It is really the small items, ultimately that drive a tenant nuts and makes them start to resent the landlord.

Next, take a look at how you are advertising your property for rent.  In your ad, are you showing that you are proud of it?  Or is this unit the red-headed stepchild?  I know that I have some units that I just hate, but I need to put my feelings aside and sell this unit to prospective tenants in my Craigslist ads as best as possible.  Don’t over sell the property, but don’t just slap the ad together.  Think like a real estate agent (we all know that they often stretch their imagination a bit when advertising such as:  cute as a button, nicest house in area, move-in ready, bright and airy).

By doing these prep items, you are setting yourself up to put your best foot forward and hopefully catch a decent tenant that may come through your apartment.  I equate this to fishing.  You can be in the right place in the lake right over a huge fish, but if you pour gasoline on your lure, that fish is never going to bite.  Same thing with tenants.  You may get a great tenant through your apartment, but if it looks terrible, unrepaired, unpainted, and messy, they are most likely going to run the other way (trust me, I have seen in it!).

Once you start getting calls for your apartment, your screening process should start.  I am very protective of my time and I do much of my tenant screening on the phone before I ever book an appointment.  When the tenant calls here are just some items that I am looking at:

• What phone number are they calling me from?  Is it out of town?  If so, why?  Did they just move into town running from another problem in another state?
• Is there a lot of noise and kids screaming in the background?  This could be an early indication how they will be when they live in your property.
• What questions are they asking?  Is it only about the rent or your background check process?
• How quickly are they looking to move.  While you may get excited about a tenant that wants to move in next week, this could mean they are getting evicted at their current place.
• I then start to ask them questions, including:
• Where do you work?  How do you pay rent?
• Who would be living there?
• Have you had any evictions?  Do you have a criminal record?
• How long have you lived where you are at now?  Why are you moving?  Listen for hidden meaning in their answers.  If they say they have lived there only 6 months, that makes me wonder why they need a new place so soon.
• Will you have any issues paying the security deposit and first month’s rent prior to move in.
• Only after I am satisfied that they pass my initial tenant verification do I book an appointment.  Even then, I am still screening them.  How easy is it to schedule a time with them?  Strangely, I have found that tenants with no jobs are more difficult to get scheduled than tenants with jobs.  Maybe it is an organizational thing.  I do NOT bend over backwards to schedule a showing.  I do it at reasonable times when it works for me.  I am testing the tenant to be sure they understand who is running the show here (me).

Once the time rolls around for the showing, I watch to see if the tenant is on-time.  It shows if they have simple respect for me and my time.  If they don’t show just common respect now (not that I am some high and mighty person,  but just average respect says you make your appointments), they are not going to follow through and show respect to you by paying rent on time and they are not going to treat you property well.

If they show up on time, I watch them closely on how they act, who else they brought with them (boyfriend, children, etc).  I see how the treat the other person and me; is it with respect and courteous behavior?   Even though I am offering this home for rent, it is still my house and they are a guest in it.

Once it is time to fill out a rental screening application, I let them fill it out initially and then examine it prior to them leaving.  Did they fill it out completely?  It is surprising how many tenants won’t put their current landlord’s phone number on the application or only put down their current apartment information and not the previous one.  I write in any information that is missing and make myself a mental note to drill in on that part of the tenant screening process to see if they were hiding anything.  I have each adult in the property fill out an application.  Lastly, I require the tenants to pay for the screening process.  In my case, I charge $25, which is my cost.  I know some landlords charge a much higher amount (like $75, but I think that may scare away a decent tenant that is only somewhat interested).

I use a tenant screening service here locally to generate the tenant background check report. I have used several different companies and found that most are the same.  They do a credit check, criminal record, and rental history check on each tenant.  This is all done on-line and just takes a couple minutes.  What I get back is a PDF of information which is pretty general.  While I see the tenant’s credit score and what creditors they have and their balance, I don’t see their entire credit history.  The rental history is limited to only if they have ever had an eviction filed against them.  If the landlord just gave them an eviction notice letter, but let them leave and never filed an eviction, there will be no record.  Only criminal records in your state will be displayed unless you pay for a more extensive national criminal search, which can take 48 hours and is done manually.

When reviewing the report, I am looking for anything that is recent or significant.  Do they have a recent eviction on their record?  Do they have anything in collections?  Do the addresses on the report match what they wrote on their application?  You will need to decide where to set the bar for yourself?  Maybe my criteria is too low for your liking (I wouldn’t disagree for most people).  You also have to compare this applicant’s report to others that you may receive in the area of your property.  It is unlikely that someone making $100k per year with an 800 credit score is going to rent a 1 bedroom apartment in a marginal part of your city!

Most landlords fail at this next step.  You need to call the tenant’s last 2 landlords.  You must do everything you can to get in touch with them and if you can’t contact them, consider not renting to this tenant applicant.  You especially want to talk to the tenant’s landlord from 2 properties ago. This landlord has no reason to color the truth about how this tenant was since the tenant is no longer living in their property.  If you can’t get the landlords to call you back, call the tenant applicant and make them track the landlord down and call you.  Any tenant that has left on a good note should have a happy landlord that would be willing to help.

Ask the previous landlord how the tenant paid the rent.  Did they always pay on time?  Were they ever late?  How long did they live in the unit?  Were there any police calls?  Did they give the landlord proper notice to move?  How did they leave the property when they moved out?  Would this landlord rent to this tenant again?  All of these questions can bring up red flags that you need to know about.  Bad answers to any of these questions can lead me to disqualify a tenant.

If everything checks out, call the tenant to schedule some time to get together and sign the lease.  I always have the tenant put some money down to hold the apartment at lease signing.  If we are less than 30 days out, I have them put down the security deposit.  If we are more than that, I will take often about 1/2 of the security deposit.  Again, I am still testing them.  Do they have the money they said they would have?  Do they meet me on-time?

Doing a great job at tenant screening and tenant selection can help reduce or eliminate any need to do evictions.  You will not only be a happier landlord, but owning rental properties will be much easier and rewarding experience.

The procedures for filing an eviction in Dakota county are almost identical all the other counties, such as Hennepin.  No oddities to report.  I do like the Apple Valley facility as they do not have any security to deal with when either filing documents or attending court.  West Saint Paul has typical security at the front door to access any of the filing windows or court.  Because both locations are in the suburbs, parking is easy as both of these buildings are build on enormous plats of land.

Because there do not appear to be many evictions in the West Saint Paul location (at least the time I was there), you will be lumped in with all other civil proceedings.  I had to unfortunately listen to a couple get up in front of the judge and talk about why they wanted a divorce and where their kids were going to go.  Very uncomfortable watching the wife crying.  I also sat through a name change, a custody case, a motion for expungement of a civil offense, and a couple other miscellaneous items before it was our turn. In Hennepin and Ramsey county, the court room is half the size and every chair is full just for evictions.  In West Saint Paul, there was maybe 20 people and only a few were there for evictions.

The Apple Valley courthouse has more activity and felt more like my typical haunts at Hennepin County eviction court.  All the counter people knew the drill, they see many more evictions and they have dedicated court time for just handling housing court.  Unlike Washington county, they will process your paperwork on the spot.  Plus, this seems to be an easier location to get to as it is just down Cedar Ave into Apple Valley and east on County 40 about three blocks.  The last time I had an eviction here, I got to court at 8:45, court started promptly at 9:00, I was third on the roll call, no tenant appeared, I was out of there by 9:30 after getting the writ.  At 9:45 the tenant calls asking where I was.  I told him court was over and he had to move.

Costs in Dakota County were the same as in the other counties for both the eviction ($318) and for the writ ($55).  One downside with evictions in Dakota county is that if you need a writ served by the sheriff, it has to be brought to Hastings!  This is a about a 30 minute drive straight east on County Road 42 from the Apple Valley courthouse and about the same distance down Hwy 61 from West Saint Paul.  Not a big deal, but most other counties have the sheriff at worst across the street, not 20 miles away!

Unlike smaller counties where you get thrown in with name changes, divorces and other civil matter, much like Hennepin county, Ramsey has a dedicated system for handling evictions.  They run at least one court time per day and occasionally two.

You need to file your paperwork downtown Saint Paul at 15 Kellogg Blvd W # 1700, Saint Paul.  It is the same paperwork that you use when in other counties, just make sure you have the judicial district correct (Ramsey is second district).  This county, like most of the others, except Anoka, will allow you to use a power of attorney to file as a property manager or to file for your own LLC.   When I am just running in to file some eviction paperwork, I am usually able to find a parking space right outside the front door in a parking meter.  Just $.50 and I am about 20 feet from the front door, worst case maybe a 1/2 a block.

To file the eviction docs, you will need to go through security, so leave your weapons at home.  Immediately inside security you go into the housing court desk.  There is some other desk where many people are waiting around, but there is typically no line for the housing desk.  Have you paperwork filled out and a checkbook.  Fee is $320 and you can wait for the docs.

In Saint Paul, I typically had a process server pick up the papers and serve them since it was too far for any of my regular guys to serve them.  This is especially true if you have  a distant rental property like Maplewood.  Otherwise, the process is the same with the docs needing to be served 7 days prior to the court date.  If you choose to use a process server, you can just drop the paperwork off with the fees and the desk person will put your completed docs in the server basket for them to pick up.

Court is held in the same building at 9am.  It is the usual groups of tenants, landlords, and attorneys.  The court time doesn’t seem to be as chaotic or busy as Minneapolis.  Most everyone sits quietly and there is not many people coming and going as in Hennepin county court.  In general, the Ramsey county judges are less friendly and more by the book than Hennepin county (who I have always said is more landlord-friendly).

If you need to get a writ, it is the same process essentially as the other counties.  You pay your $55 fee at the county court for the writ and then walk a piece of paper across the street to the sheriff’s office to get them to serve it.  The Ramsey county sheriff’s fees for service the writ are  a little strange.  You can pay $80 up front and then if the sheriff has to go back to the property to do the physical removal, it is another $160.  Otherwise, you can pay $210 up front and they will refund you $120 if they don’t do the physical removal.  I always pay everything up front, but that is open for debate.

Ramsey county evictions are very similar to most of the other counties in the Twin Cities.  They have some small procedural differences, but if you have done an eviction elsewhere, you will catch on quickly.

A victim of domestic abuse who fears there is an immenent threat against the tenant or his/her children may terminate the lease under certain conditions:

• The tenant must provide advanced notice to the landlord in writing.
• The notice must state that the tenant needs to end the lease and why.
• The notice must state the date the tenant plans to move out.
• This notice must be delivered prior to the tenant moving out.
• The tenant must supply the landlord a copy of the order for protection or no contact order.
• The tenant is responsible for the rent payment for the entire month in which the termination date falls plus an amount equal to one month’s rent.  These amounts must be paid prior to the termination date on the letter.

The tenant may, at any time before possession has been delivered (means the end of the day judgment is stayed to, not physical transfer of possession), redeem the tenancy and be restored to possession by paying to the landlord or bringing to court the amount of the rent that is in arrears, with interest (rare, but occasionally a lease will include an interest clause), costs of the action (typically the filing fee plus the fee to the process server), and an eviction attorney’s fee not to exceed $5 (not a misprint, as the $5 has not been changed for over a century), and by performing any other covenants of the lease. Minnesota. Stat. 504B.291 subd. 1 (a).

THERE ARE 5 BASIC RULES REGARDING THE RIGHT TO REDEEM:

1. The right to redeem only exists in actions for “nonpayment of rent” and applies to both residential and commercial tenants.
2. The court has no authority to deny this right. The judge can, however, limit the tenant‟s ability to redeem the premises by either issuing an immediate writ or limiting how long the writ is stayed for (7 days or less). See number #3 below.
3. The court has discretion to allow the tenant up to 7 days to redeem. However, the tenant‟s right to redeem is only available during the time the writ is stayed. And absent an agreement by the parties, the writ cannot be stayed longer than 7 days and must be based on a finding of substantial hardship. M.S. 504B.291, subd 1(a).
4. The right to redeem does NOT exist in actions filed ONLY for “breach of lease”.
5. The right to redeem MAY exist in cases involving claims of both nonpayment of rent and breach of lease. For example, if the claims are contested, the court must first determine the breach of lease issue: M.S. 504B.285, subd. 5.
1. If the landlord wins the breach of lease issue, the nonpayment issue becomes moot;
2. If the landlord loses the breach of lease issue, then the case becomes a standard nonpayment of rent case and the tenant would then have the right to redeem.