With opportunities arising in off campus student housing and other forms of new apartment growth, new landlords have entered the market. However, landlords and property managers new to the business need to understand the language of the apartment rental business. One such term that needs to be understood is “unlawful detainer” and of course “eviction”. These two phrases are often used interchangeably however they are different.
Unlawful Detainer, in regards to tenant screening, can be defined as:
“The term unlawful detainer ordinarily refers to the conduct of a tenant who is in possession of an apartment or leased property and refuses to leave the premises upon the expiration or termination of the lease.” legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Unlawful+Detainer
In short Unlawful Detainer is a legal action landlords use to evict a tenant. While the term Eviction means to actually expel a tenant from their apartment by legal process.
Unlawful Detainer action in the courts can be complicated and confusing for newer landlords. The eviction process as a whole is time consuming and expensive. A best practice is to utilize a third-party tenant screening company in order to help prevent the potential of eviction.
As a tool for landlords Unlawful Detainer can be effective. It can also be used if certain laws are broken.
From the California Department of Consumer Affairs webpage (dca.ca.gov):
(1) Recent laws designed to abate drug dealing and unlawful use, manufacture, or possession of weapons and ammunition, permit a city attorney or prosecutor in selected jurisdictions to file an unlawful detainer action against a tenant based on an arrest report (or other action or report by law enforcement or regulatory agencies) if the landlord fails to evict the tenant after 30 days’ notice from the city. The tenant must be notified of the nature of the action and possible defenses.
Dealing with the legal aspect of renting apartment units a landlord must understand the rules and how tenant laws apply to their leasing agreements. They also need to find a professional tenant screening company to help them properly vet new applicants before handing over the keys to a new tenant.
Rental applications should be very clear and very uniform among potential renters. Special care should be taken in regards to specific questions asked on applications. Recently the Department of Housing and Urban Development put out a guidance regarding the legal and lawful use of Criminal Background Records during the application process. New landlords are tasked to learn the laws pertaining to their business including how and when to perform criminal background checks in the tenant screening process.
Starting with the tenant selection process or application process to conducting tenant background checks to signing a lease and then possibly having to file for eviction can be a complex set of tasks for a new landlord. Having an attorney help spell out laws and responsibilities of being a landlord is important along with how unlawful detainers work and the process of actually evicting a bad tenant including due process and court costs. Again, new landlords and property managers should partner with a professional tenant screening company to help them accept good tenants and avoid bad ones. Tenant background reports that should be utilized in this process are criminal background checks, SSN Traces, credit reports, credit score, employment verification, personal and professional reference checks and most importantly eviction checks.
To learn more about the current challenges of new landlords in the USA and what they need to know in order to be proficient in the apartment rental industry and most especially how to properly conduct thorough tenant background checks read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/unlawful-detainers-at-the-center-of-landlordproperty-manager-challenges/