Essay Sample on Article Summary: Commercial Evictions and Landlord Liens by Heather Bridgers

Although neither the tenant nor the Landlord expects a lease engagement to go wrong, there is always a possibility of a disagreement to occur. Therefore, both parties to such an arrangement must document the terms of the lease. The document creates some form of protection or a contingency when such a scenario occurs. According to Bridgers (2009), the landlord should concentrate on drafting a document that protects the investment. The owner should be in a position to understand the interpretation of the material in case of a breach. A breach of the lease agreement by the tenant occurs when the tent goes against the terms of the contract. For example, when the tenant changes the permitted use of the property or when engages in illegal activity. The lease agreement describes the condition under which a breach occurs. The violation can either be curable or non-curable. In the case of a curable violation, the tenant must get a chance to correct its mistake. However, for non-curable breaches, the landlord must serve the tenant with a notice to vacate the premises.

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Should the tenant ignore the notice and fail to vacate the premises after the notice period, the landlord can commence the eviction procedure. For an eviction to begin, the landlord must serve the proper parties with a notice in the correct manner. For a curable default, the owner must afford the tenant full cure period. The landlord must terminate the lease or the tenant's right to possession of the contract. According to Bridgers (2009), it is essential to carefully select the route to follow due to the available remedies in the lease. If the tenant is in breach, terminating the contract affords the landlord the damages to the contractual rights. Therefore, the landlord must follow the right procedure to evict the tenant. The property owner must file for ejection and provide the necessary evidence or a person to testify to the default. The owner can either include a lien on the tenant's property in the lease or obtain one under statutory provisions.

Tenant Rights versus Landlord Rights

For an eviction to occur, the landlord must justify that a breach of the lease agreement has occurred. The tenant must have failed to vacate the premises after the notice period. In other words, upon the realization of a default or breach of the lease agreement, the landlord must evaluate whether the default is curable or not. The owner must afford the tenant enough time to correct the default in case of a curable default. However, in case of a non-curable default or the tenant fails to correct the default, the landlord can seek an eviction. For such a situation to occur, both parties must have enough reason to make the decisions. The tenant has reason to believe that the landlord is on the wrong. On the other hand, the landlord has grounds to support the choices for an eviction. In this case, the situation leads to a dispute where both parties want to exercise their rights under the agreement and the law. Therefore, for an eviction dispute to occur, both the tenant and the landlord must have reasons to believe the other party is at fault.

For the landlord to pursue an eviction, the tenant must have failed to vacate the premises willingly. The landlord must have provided the occupant with the notices through the correct means. In the case of the curable default, the tenant must have enough time to correct the default. Monetary defaults often have shorter notice period to fix, but nonmonetary defaults may have more extended notice periods. If the tenant fails to vacate the premises after the period stated in the notice, the owner may opt to file an eviction. In such a situation, the owner must have enough evidence or proof that the occupant has broken the lease agreement. A default may occur when the tenant fails to make payments as agreed. A default may also happen when the tenant goes against the terms under the lease agreement. For example, the tenant changes the use of the property or engages in an illegal activity other than what is stated in the lease agreement. The court may fail to grant an eviction by discrimination or eviction jurisprudence (Dickinson, 2015). However, in most cases, the landlord will win the eviction lawsuit if it can prove that the tenant violated the lease agreement and that the tenant received a notice.

Failure to comply with the landlord's notice may occur when the tenant is ignorant of the law and the contents of the agreement. There is a possibility that the tenant may have ignored the deal. However, if the occupant does not know the legal procedures for eviction, it is possible to ignore the landlord's notice or notices. As a result, the tenant may defy the landlord's warnings due to a failure to understand the importance of the announcements. According to Bridgers (2009), the parties to a lease agreement rarely explore the contents of the contract after the signing. The tenant may not realize that the contents of the notice have some implications under the contract. The tenant may also be ignorant of the landlord's rights. In such a case, the tenant may not understand the consequences of a particular default or that of a notice from the owner. The occupant may choose to ignore the warnings, forcing the owner to commence an eviction process. However, when the tenant decides to ignore the notes without reasonable defense against the breach, the landlord may still win the eviction case. An ignorant tenant stands to lose in an eviction case.

The tenant may also choose to ignore the owner's notices if it has reasons to believe that the landlord has breached the agreement. In such a case, the tenant may have enough proof against the landlord. In such a case, the tenant may be confident that the landlord does not have enough grounds to evict. The tenant may have evidence to prove that the owner has failed to honor the agreement. Such a situation may occur if the tenant believes that the landlord has refused to make the necessary repairs or that the eviction is discriminatory. The tenant may also choose to ignore the landlord's notices if the eviction results from a tenant are a legal right. The tenant may opt to fight the eviction through court proceedings when it has enough evidence against the landlord. Otherwise fighting deportation without enough evidence may result in loses. If the tenant loses the case, he or she may have to pay the landlord the cost of the case including legal fees. The tenant may also lose the lien under the contract or statutory claim. An informed occupant can only ignore the landlord's notice with enough evidence or grounds to fight an eviction.

For an eviction to occur, one of the parties must engage in a breach of trust or the lease agreement. Regardless of the default, removal is only possible if the landlord and the tenant fail to agree on another way to resolve the dispute. One of the other ways to address the disagreement includes making a new agreement. The two parties may choose to settle their differences through a new deal that puts into consideration all the possible defaults. The landlord may also decide to give the tenant an extension of the notice period or change the terms of the notice. If the party at fault agrees to remedy the situation, the two parties may agree to settle the dispute out of court. For example, if the tenant had failed to pay the rent, the parties may agree to resolve the case without an eviction if the person pays the rent due. Similarly, if the default is a failure to repair the property, the two parties may solve the dispute by agreeing on the way to make the repairs. However, in case of a discriminatory eviction, it may be difficult to settle the case out of court.

Laws Governing Eviction

In the United States, an eviction is subject to federal law, state law, local law, leases, common law, and court rulings. Rules that govern the tenant and the landlord's rights emanate from many years of litigation and legislation (Whitman, 2012). These laws complement each other in developing the eviction process of grounds for eviction. Most rules were touching on eviction base their argument on the model residential landlord-tenant code and the uniform residential landlord and tenant act. Under federal law, statutes such as the Civil Rights Act and the Federal Fair Housing Act govern the relationship between the landlord and the tenants. The Civil Rights Act describes the rights of an individual and protects both parties to a tenancy agreement. The state laws, on the other hand, govern the particulars of an eviction including the eviction process.

State laws define the steps that each party takes during the eviction process. For example, in Ohio, Ohio revised code 192.02A (9) and 1923.04 define the terms of eviction in the state (Dillman, 2019). The landlord must provide the tenant with at least three-day notice before commencing an eviction lawsuit. He or she cannot evict the tenant in any other way other than through the court proceedings. However, in Ohio, the state law does not provide any obligation for the landlord to accept a cure to the default during the three day notice period. If the tenant does not vacate the premises after the three days, the landlord can start the forcible entry proceedings. Adhering to the above procedure is essential since it is one of the defenses available to the tenant fighting an eviction. If the occupant can prove that the owner did not follow the state procedure for deportation, the expulsion lawsuit may not succeed. The Ohio Revised Code 5321.15 describes the illegal eviction methods (Dillman, 2019). Some of the examples include changing locks and shutting off utilities. If the landlord opts for either of the illegal eviction methods, the eviction lawsuit may not succeed.

Among all the rules and laws governing eviction, the lease agreement is the essential guide. The lease agreement defines the terms of the relationship between the tenant and the landlord. Provided the lease agreement does not violate any of the existing laws, including the constitution, it becomes the primary document governing an eviction. It is the terms of a lease agreement that define the kind of default and whether it is curable or not. The lease agreement states the responsibilities of the two parties. The parties may also choose to include remedies to cure the curable defaults within the transaction. Whenever any of the parties violates the agreement, then the other party can enforce the stated remedies. The lease agreement may also contain the lien contract. The landlord may contract for a lien on the property of the tenant within the lease agreement. An alien clause may state explicitly the property that the landlord may hold contract lien on in case the tenant fails to pay rent (Bridgers, 2009). The agreement is a contingency measure to protect the parties in case the relationship fails. Mostly, the landlord has more power to include clauses in the contract to protect its investment.

Conclusion

An eviction is the final step in resolving a dispute between the tenant and the landlord. An eviction lawsuit is the court process through which the landlord repossesses a rental unit by removing the incumbent tenant. For an eviction lawsuit to be successful, the landlord must prove that the tenant violated the lease agreement. Also before commencing the eviction lawsuit, the landlord must give notice to the tenant to vacate the unit. However, the tenant may decide to fight the eviction in court provide it has enough evidence against the landlord. For the tenant to win the eviction case, it must prove that either the landlord violated the eviction process or the lease agreement.