Writ of Possession: The Complete Tenants’ Guide

A writ of possession is a courtroom order that authorizes a law enforcement officer to clear away a tenant and their possessions from a rental residence. A landlord can request a writ of possession if the tenant won’t voluntarily go away the house right after they get the first detect to vacate.

A writ of possession is not the exact as an eviction. It is just one particular attainable action in the eviction course of action, and it is not always essential.

A writ of possession is often called a writ of eviction. A writ is a authorized get to either get started or quit doing something. This variety of writ legally orders the occupant to halt residing in the home by providing the right to possession again to the landlord.

In other terms, the tenant will need to transfer out inside of the time said on the writ, or an officer can legally eliminate occupants from the residence.

A writ of possession is a past resort

Lots of evictions will not have to have a writ of possession. But when they do, it is commonly a person of the final ways in the eviction system.

A landlord won’t want to file a writ of possession if they legally tell a tenant they are becoming evicted and the tenant leaves voluntarily. If the tenant stays, the writ lets legislation enforcement to eliminate them from the rental home.

A writ of possession can be issued for numerous factors

Any time a writ of possession is granted, it means the landlord won an eviction court hearing, but the tenant has not still left the rental property but.

A landlord needs to have at minimum one particular court docket-accepted rationale to evict their tenant. These can consist of:

• Unpaid rent
• Residence problems
• Unauthorized people dwelling at the rental house
• Unauthorized animals at the household
• Unauthorized subletting of the household (together with shorter-expression renting)
• Tenant is not abiding by overall health and safety criteria
• Tenant has dedicated acts of domestic violence
• Tenant is using the rental unit for illegal activity
• Any other violations of the lease settlement

Writs of possession can also be employed throughout the foreclosure procedure, but this only influences property owners, not renters.

How lengthy do you have to shift after a writ of possession is posted?

It is dependent where you reside. Once the writ is granted and vacate recognize is served, states give tenants any place from a working day to far more than a week to shift. This timeframe will be shown on the recognize.

For case in point, a tenant residing in a rental dwelling in Austin, TX, will have a least of 24 several hours to leave the moment the remaining notice is posted. But a tenant residing in an condominium in Atlanta, GA, will have at the very least a week to move.

If this date passes and the tenant has not still left, a regulation enforcement officer can “execute” the writ and get rid of them from the house.

Bear in mind that this is only a person possible piece of an eviction timeline. The overall course of action can take several weeks, depending on condition legal guidelines and how swiftly the landlord, courtroom, and sheriff act.

Sample eviction timeline

Quite a few issues want to come about prior to a landlord can talk to for a writ of possession. A common eviction method could possibly look like this:

1. The landlord provides the tenant a created recognize to vacate. The notice allows the tenant a specified selection of times to voluntarily depart the rental residence. The recognize will have to adhere to condition rules.
2. The landlord files an eviction fit. If the tenant does not leave voluntarily, the landlord can just take the issue to county court docket. Filing an eviction fit starts off the courtroom approach but doesn’t decide the ultimate result. At this position, an officer typically provides a different created observe to the tenant that tells them the eviction procedure has commenced.
3. The tenant and landlord go to court for an eviction hearing. If the landlord wins the eviction go well with, the tenant is lawfully needed to leave the household. If the tenant is a no-show, the landlord wins by default. If the landlord doesn’t exhibit, the tenant wins.
4. The tenant can charm or voluntarily vacate. The tenant has a particular number of times to possibly attraction the final decision or go out of the dwelling, based on the point out.
5. The landlord asks for a writ of possession. A writ is issued if the attraction date passes and the tenant hasn’t moved out.
6. A legislation enforcement officer oversees the transfer-out. An officer serves the notice to vacate after yet another brief time period. As soon as this deadline passes, an officer can legally clear away the tenant and their possessions from the home. A locksmith will swap or rekey all doorway locks in advance of the officer leaves.

What transpires to a tenant’s possessions?

If a tenant’s possessions are nevertheless at the property when the writ is enforced, the landlord can take out them (or have them taken out) although the officer is at the home.

Some states call for a landlord to retain the tenant’s house in storage for a selected volume of time. Other states give landlords quick regulate above any possessions remaining driving. After the landlord has possession, they can select to retain, offer, or toss absent the merchandise if they want to.

Can a writ of possession be stopped?

A judge can stop a writ of possession in some cases. A tenant or their legal professional can file a movement to keep in the interval of time following the writ is issued. This motion asks the choose to remain (cease) the writ of possession.

Tenants will need to have to provide a reason for submitting a movement to stay the writ of possession. An emergency court hearing will be scheduled if the decide approves their ask for. If the decide does not approve it, the eviction course of action moves ahead, and an officer can implement the writ of possession.

A tenant can also charm the total eviction selection, but this step takes place in advance of a writ of possession is issued.

Redfin does not provide authorized, tax, or money advice. This short article is for informational functions only and is not a substitute for professional guidance from a certified legal professional, tax specialist, or money advisor.