Eviction

Eviction (also called in some jurisdictions ejectment, forcible entry and detainer, etc.) is a legal process whereby a person is legally removed from a residence.

It is most commonly used whenever a tenant, renting property from a landlord, fails to pay rent as due, or breaks other terms of the rental agreement (e.g. unauthorized persons living in the residence, destruction of property, criminal activity). It is also used when a homeowner fails to pay on a mortgage, and after the home is repossessed still refuses to leave the premises.

In the United States, eviction on a residential property generally must be performed via legal action: "self-help" methods such as cutting off utilities, changing the locks, removing items from the property are not permitted. (These actions are permitted, though, on commercial rentals in most cases.) Instead, the property owner must post notice on the property in a prominent place, giving the residents a specified amount of time to leave. If the residents fail to do so, the property owner must then file suit (usually in a small claims or justice of the peace court) for any rent and fees owed, court costs and legal fees, and repossession of the property. After that, the property owner must then request the sheriff or constable to remove the residents on a specified day; usually if the weather is raining or snowing eviction will not take place until the next clear day.