Unfortunately, many homeowners can wind up with a guest or two who have worn out their welcome, including relatives. But if that relative has taken up permanent residency in your home and you need them gone, it’s time to start thinking about eviction.
If you’re feeling more than a bit guilty over the prospect, don’t be so hard on yourself. If you’ve asked them to leave your home or a rental property, and they won’t budge, an eviction—taking legal action to remove a tenant—is your final option.
But in practical terms, how can you get someone out of your house? Does the eviction process get more complicated if the landlord is trying to evict someone they’re related to? Here’s everything to know about evicting a family member with no lease.
Is the relative you want to evict a tenant, licensee, or neither?
States have different laws on how to classify someone who stays in a home or rental unit, whether they rent, lease, or stay without any agreement or payment of rent. In the eyes of the law, your visitor can be classified as a tenant or licensee.
In some areas, they’re considered a tenant when they have a lease or pay rent; in other areas, a tenant is simply someone who occupies a space you own (with no lease or exchange of rent money).
A person who stays in the home of a “landlord” for an extended period can also be considered to have a lease and be classified as a licensee, depending on state law. Some states even say it’s acceptable to ask the person to leave and remove his belongings, no eviction notice or legal action necessary, as long as rent wasn’t exchanged.
If you’re a reluctant landlord who is wondering how to get someone out of your house, the first thing you need to do is establish how your state classifies this now-unwelcome visitor. If they’re considered a tenant or licensee, you as the landlord will need to go through the eviction process.
Evicting a family member with no lease
You might have asked your relative, nicely, to leave. Maybe you even sent them not-so-subtle email hints with links to find homes for rent. Either way, you might now be realizing that your only option is to evict them. But evicting a family member with no lease isn’t an easy feat.
No one eviction fits all, either. Different cities and states have different eviction procedures and timelines. But other than the potential emotional burden, the eviction process with a relative of the landlord is no different from evicting any other tenant.
The truth is, most places don’t allow landlords or property managers to instantly evict a boarder, regardless of who he is or what he’s done to deserve eviction, says Zachary D. Schorr, a Los Angeles real estate attorney.
If the people you want to evict are considered to be tenants or licensees, Schorr says, a landlord can’t just throw them out or change the locks.
“That’s universal,” he says. “You have to go through the court system.”
Generally, this is what you as the landlord need to do to evict someone, including evicting a family member with no lease:
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Serve your tenant with a notice to vacate that states when and why they must vacate. Most places require filing a three- to 30-day notice that the tenancy has ended. Be specific, and state what they must do to reinstate his lease (if anything), and by what deadline. The eviction notice must be written carefully, and the help of an attorney could make the eviction process go more smoothly. If your tenant has an unexpired lease, you might still be able to evict him for unpaid rent or for breaking the lease agreement terms. Note that you still might owe a security deposit refund to your tenant if they’re not behind on their rent, depending on the lease and state law.
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