When you need to evict a family member, it’s natural to feel anxious about the entire situation and look for guidance on doing things the right way.
Reasons To Evict A Family Member
With the potential for conflict and emotional distress, evicting a family member is one of the toughest decisions anyone can face. Yet, sometimes, it’s necessary to protect your home, well-being, or peace of mind.
Reasons to evict a family member differ depending on the situation. If your family member has a lease agreement, the reasons you can evict them are more limited than if your family member lives with you in your home on an informal basis.
Common Reasons To Give Eviction notice for family member With A Lease Include:
- Non-payment of rent
- Chronic late payment of rent
- Illegal activities conducted at the property
- Nuisance to neighbors
- Selling the rental property
- Property damage
- Unauthorized occupants or subletting
Common Reasons For Evicting A Family Member With No Lease Include:
- You want your personal space back
- Illegal activity and substance abuse
- Overcrowding
- Personal disagreements
- Disruptive behavior
- Unaffordable costs of subsidizing their living expenses
- Violation of house rules
- Violence or threats of violence
- Verbal abuse
How To Evict A Family Member With A Lease
A lease can be a written or verbal agreement. If your family member pays rent or contributes to bills in exchange for accommodation they are your tenant.
An eviction can only take place if you have just cause to terminate the lease, otherwise, tenants are entitled to stay until their lease ends.
Just cause would include failure to pay rent, other lease violations, and selling the property.
In the case of failure to pay rent, you have the right to issue a notice to pay or vacate. For other lease violations, issue a notice to cure or vacate. These notices inform the tenant that their lease will be terminated unless they fix their violations by the specified date.
If you want your family member to move out because you’re selling the property, check your lease agreement for a clause covering pre-sale evictions and send a notice to vacate which complies with those terms. The notice period in this case is generally longer than the one required for a lease violation.
Where your lease is silent on the matter, check with a lawyer to find out if a pre-sale eviction is allowed in your state or city.
If you have just cause to go ahead with an eviction, these are the steps you should follow.
Step 1: Issue A Notice to Vacate
Check your lease agreement to see how much notice you need to give. For a month-to-month lease check your local laws for the minimum required notice period. Send the notice by certified mail or hand deliver the notice to your family member.
Step 2: File An Eviction Lawsuit
If your family member doesn’t move out by the specified date, filing an eviction lawsuit is your next step. In some jurisdictions, you can file a lawsuit as soon as you’ve issued the notice to vacate, but usually, you need to wait for the notice period to expire.
Serve the eviction summons and complaint on your relative. Make sure you follow the correct procedure in your jurisdiction.
Step 3: Attend The Eviction Hearing
Attend the court hearing and present your case to the judge. If your relative doesn’t show up, you’ll get a default judgment allowing the eviction to go ahead.
But if your relative decides to contest the eviction, there’s no guarantee the judge will rule in your favor. Make sure you’ve got plenty of evidence to document the lease violations.
Step 4: Enforce The Eviction Order
Your relative must move out once the court orders the eviction. If they refuse to leave, you should notify law enforcement. You cannot remove your relative or their belongings yourself.
Officers will attend and ensure your relative leaves. Hire a locksmith to change the locks while the eviction takes place.
How to Evict A Family Member Who Doesn’t Pay Rent
When your family member lives with you, or in a property you own, without paying rent or contributing to the bills, they’re considered an occupant.
Occupants don’t have a rental contract and can only stay at a property with the permission of the owner.
Be careful, though. In some states, an occupant can gain tenant’s rights if they have mail delivered to the address, use the address on official documents, or hold a key to the property.
You don’t need a reason to evict an occupant, but you do need to give formal notice.
An occupant can’t be forced out, nor can you dump their belongings on the street. If they don’t comply with your request to leave, you must issue a notice to vacate with a move-out deadline (following local laws).
If your relative doesn’t move out by the deadline, it’s time to file an eviction lawsuit.
Occupants you have a duty to support can’t be evicted. This duty is usually limited to spouses and minor children, however, 29 states have laws on the books granting impoverished parents the right to support (a few states include grandparents and siblings).
Check to see if your state has a Filial Responsibility law: https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/filial-responsibility-laws-by-state
If your relative is covered by a Filial Responsibility law, talk to an attorney before you file eviction paperwork.
Is Your Relative A Guest?
If your relative has only been staying with you for a few weeks, they’re a guest. Your guest is committing the crime of trespass by remaining on your property after you’ve asked them to leave.
Ask them to leave again. If they don’t, call the police and report the trespass.
How To File An Eviction Notice On A Family Member
First, determine your family member’s tenant status. Even without a formal lease, they may be considered a tenant if there’s a verbal agreement, or if they pay rent or contribute to the bills.
Remember, you need a reason to evict a tenant, but you don’t need a reason for evicting a family member with no lease.
- Serve a written notice to vacate. The notice should include:
- The date
- Family member’s name
- Reason for eviction (required for a tenant)
- Deadline to vacate the property
- Any remedial actions they can take (paying rent owed, for example)
- Your contact information
- A statement warning of potential legal action if the notice is ignored
- The notice period depends on your local laws and can range from 3 to 90 days.
- Send the notice by certified mail, post the notice on the door, or have the notice delivered and signed for (rules differ by jurisdiction).
- If the family member doesn’t comply with the notice, file an eviction lawsuit at your local courthouse. You’ll need to pay a fee. You’ll also need to serve a summons and complaint.
- The summons and complaint must be served properly. In some jurisdictions, the court will serve the summons, in others you’ll need to send the summons by certified mail or use a professional process server.
- Attend the court hearing and present your case with supporting evidence (if applicable) such as documentation of non-payment of rent or lease violations.
- If the judge rules in your favor, they’ll issue the eviction order.
- In an ideal world, your family member will comply with the order. If they don’t leave voluntarily, schedule a lockout date with law enforcement.
- Attend the lockout with law enforcement officers. Have a locksmith change the locks.
While the legal process of evicting a family member is straightforward, the emotional fallout can take a toll on everyone involved. If at all possible, try to find an acceptable solution for both parties that avoids using the courts.
Related Post: Does An Eviction Notice Have To Be Notarized?
Alex Graham is a co-founder and manages high-quality content that helps once evicted/ex-felons find a place to call. home. Alex believes even if he can help one person return to a good, wholesome life it is well worth the effort.