I'm a month behind on my rent?

0 votes
asked Jan 6, 2017 in Real Estate - Renting by yovan (120 points)
I've fallen a month behind on my rent.

Is there anyway I can get assistance to pay my rent?

How long does it take for eviction to happen?

1 Answer

0 votes
answered Jan 6, 2017 by Lilly21 (57,780 points)

Try to get a small loan such as payday loan that could help you pay the rent or ask family if you can borrow some money.

Another option is to ask around at churches. If they have the funds most will try there best to help you get your rent covered for the month. 

The eviction process takes awhile but try not to get to that point. 


Here are the basics of that process and your options at each step.

1. Your landlord will deliver you a letter demanding you pay or leave. Once you receive this letter, you have 7 days to either pay or leave. This probably will be your last chance to negotiate with the landlord, and they will probably want payment quickly. 

2. After the 7 days, the landlord can file a eviction request with the local court. 

The court, through the sheriff will serve a summons upon you for this. Unlike other lawsuits, you may be summoned by post and mail. This means the deputy may tack or tape the summons to the front door and mail you a copy. 

Usually, service has to be upon a person. 

3. You then have seven days to file a response to the court as to why you should not be evicted. If you fail to do so, the landlord wins by default. 

4. After your response, you will have a hearing (usually very quickly). If eviction is for non payment of rent, even being a few dollars short from months ago will result in you being evicted. If the landlord can prove you owe any amount, the court will rule in landlord's favor.

5. If you lose, you have 7 days to appeal. If you appeal, any rent that comes due must be paid to the court. Failure to pay to the court, which will hold the money until the appeal is heard, will result in your appeal being thrown out and the eviction taking place.

6. Once you have either missed your appeal or had it heard, if you did not win somewhere in court, the court will issues the possession order to the landlord. At that point, the landlord, under supervision of the sheriff's office, will physically evict you.

7. If you are evicted for non payment of rent, and the court awarded back rent, penalties and legal fees, you still owe this money. The landlord then can use the court system to garnish your wages, seize your property or otherwise take what the judgement says you owe.

8. Your most important right in all of this is that you can only be evicted through the judicial process. If the landlord tries a DIY eviction, such as changing the locks, turning off utilities or removing your stuff while you're out, then you have a solid cause of action against the landlord.

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