Eviction proceedings begins with the filing of the lawsuit in court. To do so:
- The lawyer assigned to you will draft the claim that you will present to the court through your solicitor.
- We will wait for the judge to admit the claim.
Once the proceeding is admitted, the court will notify the tenant of the claim. The tenant will have 10 working days to pay or refuse payment. At this point, we will already know the date of the hearing (trial) and the day on which the forced eviction from the property will take place (called ejectment). Occasionally, the court may change this date.
The tenant, once served with the complaint, will have several options:
If the tenant pays at this point and this is the first time a non-payment occurs, the lease agreement will remain in force. Otherwise, the agreement will be terminated and the tenant, even after settling the debt, will have to leave the property.
If the tenant objects and the judgement is in favour of the property owner, the tenant will be ordered to pay and will be forced to leave the property.
If the tenant does not answer or does not appear in court, the judge will terminate the proceedings by ordering the tenant to pay and forcing them to leave the property. This is the most common situation.
If the tenant gives the keys back, your lawyer will request that court proceedings continue in order to determine the amount of money owed and for a judgement to be passed that will allow the property owner to legally repossess the property. If the tenant has left the keys in your letterbox or you believe the tenant has abandoned the property, contact your case manager or your lawyer.
3. Once the judge has issued a decision, if the tenant does not voluntarily pay the amount they have been ordered to pay, it is possible to file a writ of execution to request that the tenant's assets be seized.
This would be the normal development of the process, but bear in mind that the procedure may be delayed because the tenant applies for the benefit of free legal representation or because social services need to intervene in cases where tenants are in a position of vulnerability, among other reasons.
Each case is different. Your case manager will always inform you about how your case is developing in a personalised way.