Investing in a home is an important life step to take, and it is not one that everyone takes during their lifetime. Whether for financial reasons or because of personal choice, some people choose to rent an apartment or house instead of agreeing to a thirty year mortgage payment. But a lease agreement is similar to a mortgage in that if the payments are not made you can find yourself out of a place to live. The difference is that in a rental situation the landlord does not file a foreclosure case, but instead will initiate eviction proceedings against you.
An eviction is governed by the Landlord and Tenant Act and it is different from a foreclosure in these ways:
- The resident does not have an ownership interest in the property in an eviction, but does in a foreclosure.
- The controlling document in an eviction is the lease, but in a foreclosure the controlling documents are the promissory note and mortgage.
An eviction case is also a much faster action than is a foreclosure. Many of the defenses that area available in a foreclosure, such as challenging the lender’s ability to foreclosure by claiming the lender is not the note holder, is not also available in an eviction case. The most popular defense in an eviction case is to claim that the rent has been paid, but if you raise this defense you have to be prepared to provide proof of payment. You might also fight an eviction by claiming the landlord has breached the terms of the lease and that the nature of the breach is such that rent need not be paid. Common examples are the landlord’s failure to maintain the property which results in the tenant spending money to make repairs. In that instance proof of the breach of lease will be required and you will also have to show that the actions you took were needed. In order to determine if you have a valid defense to an eviction, contact a knowledgeable debt management attorney. Call us today to learn more.
For more information about foreclosures and evictions, contact us at www.DsouzaLegalGroup.com. We will help by coming up with solutions that work for you.
