Can Landlord Throw You Out Without a Lease?
- A lease, also known as a rental agreement, is an agreement that a landlord and tenant enter into for purposes of renting a property. Leases typically establish a set period of time in which the renter agrees to live in the property at a specific rental fee. These agreements can be entered into orally or verbally, and having an oral rental agreement does not grant the landlord the right to remove the tenant whenever she wishes.
- If a landlord wants to remove a tenant from a property, he has to comply with the state's laws on eviction. An eviction, sometimes known as unlawful detainer, begins when the landlord provides the tenant a notice or demand to vacate the premises. The notice typically tells the tenant that he must vacate the premises by a certain date or the landlord will file a lawsuit and ask the court to remove the tenant. If the tenant does not leave, the landlord must go to court, file a lawsuit and ask the court to remove the tenant. If the court grants the landlord's request, the landlord can then ask the sheriff or local law enforcement authority to forcibly remove the tenant.
- The particulars of the eviction process differ significantly, but in general, a tenant has the right to fight the eviction through the court. If, for example, the landlord wants to evict the tenant because he claims the tenant did not pay rent, the tenant can appear in court and offer evidence to counter this claim, such as evidence of the landlord cashing the rent check. Whether the parties entered into a written or oral rental agreement does not change the eviction requirement or the right of the tenant to offer a defense.
- While it's perfectly legal to rent a property without having a written lease or rental agreement, it's not always in either the landlord's or renter's best interests to do so. When a conflict arises in these situations, proving the terms of the rental agreement can be a difficult for either party. If the parties make an agreement but later clash over the terms of the agreement, they may only be able to prove their case through witness testimony, evidence of payments or other evidence. This can be difficult, and it's almost always better to have a written lease that contains all the terms of the rental agreement.