If you have ever signed a rental agreement in the presence of your landlord, you will know how difficult it can be to cancel that contract, especially if you are behind in your rent. In most states, landlords have the right to cancel a lease at any time if they become delinquent in rent payments. If you believe you may be facing eviction, it is important to be prepared. This article discusses the best way to protect yourself should your landlord decide to cancel your lease.
The first thing you should do is call your landlord and ask to speak with someone about the possibility of an eviction. You will want to prepare a list of all your debts to include utilities, security deposits, late payments and other costs that may have incurred without your knowledge. You may also need to provide proof that you pay all these expenses on time. If you have a history of bad debts, this may be difficult to do so you should be prepared with documents proving your credit score and any other financial information relevant to the lease agreement.
Once you have spoken with the person who will be overseeing your lease, it is important you document everything. Keep track of when the notice was sent, how many days notice was needed, and your answers to the question: ‘Can my landlord evict me if I break a lease?’ If you wish to fight the eviction, you must have reasonable notice to terminate the lease. Your landlord is likely to send you a court order to show that you have not paid the lease.
There is also the option of going to court to try and fight for your eviction. In this situation, you will need to go before a judge and plead your case. If you are lucky, you will win the eviction. An eviction order will be filed with the courts. If you do not have enough time to get to court, you should try to negotiate with the person who is supervising your lease to extend your lease by a few months to allow time to pay the rent.
Sometimes just mailing the notice of eviction in the mail will help to stop the eviction. This is less likely to work through if the landlord has already sent a letter to you informing you of your breach of the lease. You may have to appear at court or you may be able to work something out with your landlord.
If none of these things work, or you do not have the time to deal with this kind of situation, then hiring an attorney may be necessary. An attorney can help you get the appropriate court orders so that you can remain in your home until the lease is ended or another agreement is entered into. This can help protect you from having your property repossessed. You do not want to end up in this situation, so it is important that you protect your rights under the lease agreement.
