Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Indiana
These tenants have been living in this house now for several years but recently started not responding to our calls about rent due. They will be a month behind come Aug. 1st. Unfortunately we had them sign no lease and they said because of that they could live rent free for a year if they so chose. We just want to know if we can legally evict them since there was no lease. Can we do something?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Absolutely! Go to small claims court in your township and file for evection. It typically takes about 30 days. The first step would be to send them a certified letter stating they have xxx amount of days to pay rent due or evection will be filed. You may also hand deliver this. When you go to file your claim, you will have show that you gave them official notice. It is best to give them at least 7-10 days to pay or evection process will be filed.
Once you have your claim on file, request the court give personal notice and Order to Appear. In small claims court, that is different than a regular notice. This way if they fail to appear in court on the Order to Appear and you can prove they had personal notice, you can then request a warrant for them.