HUD Regulations on Evictions

Your tenant has to follow you rules rules if she's getting HUD help.
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If you break HUD's eviction rules for landlords, you'll have problems renting to tenants who get housing help in the future. HUD sets rules for evictions to protect tenants and landlords. While the government agency won't prevent you from getting an eviction if your tenant does something wrong and has to go, you do have to follow the procedures for evicting a HUD tenant.

Reasons

You don't have to wait for your tenant to stop paying rent to kick her out. You can evict your tenant if she doesn't follow the lease rules or report her income or family size changes to the housing agency with her case. If she's involved in criminal or drug activity in or near your property, you can evict her for it. Some HUD leases have clauses that let you evict a tenant for drug or criminal activity in or near the rental, even if she wasn't involved or didn't know about it. You can throw your tenant out if she doesn't meet all the renter obligations in your state's laws or for other reasons HUD approves.

Notice

Your state's laws already include eviction notice requirements, but you've got to follow HUD's rules as well. Your tenant is entitled to written notice of the eviction. Your notice has to say what date she have to move by and why she's being evicted, with details. For example, if someone in the rental had drugs, you should summarize the incident on the notice and mention what part of the lease it violates. You have to mail the notice to the tenant and personally give the notice to an adult who answers the door at your rental property. If no one answers, you can stick the notice to the door or slide it underneath.

Deadline

You have to give your tenant the time stated in her lease and allowed by state laws to move. If she's being evicted for a reason other than breaking rules, criminal or drug activity or not paying rent, you have to give her at least 30 days from the date you delivered the notice to move.

Hearing

You have to use the court procedures set by your state to evict your tenant under HUD's rules. You can't lock her out of the house or turn off the utilities to force her to leave, even if she's making a mess of your property. As a landlord, you usually have to a file a lawsuit against the tenant for eviction. You should try to talk to the tenant first if you think you can settle the problem with her. HUD rules allow you to settle with the tenant and put it in writing. You can require she pay your legal costs as part of the agreement if you already filed an eviction lawsuit.

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