A lot of people think that as soon as their tenant is in arrears they can evict them however this is not the case. There are processes that must be followed in accordance with the current legislation. I have outlined the process below:
1. Once a tenant is more than 14 days in arrears (must not have a credit amount) you can issue a termination notice for “non payment of rent”.
2. On the termination notice you put a date for the tenant to vacate which must not be less than 14 days after the termination notice was sent allowing 4 business days postage.
3. If the tenant pays rent between the time the termination notice was issued and the vacate date and are no longer over 14 days in arrears the termination notice becomes void.
4. If the tenant is still over 14 days in arrears once the vacate date comes around you then need to apply to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal for a hearing to have the tenant evicted.
5. You will usually receive a hearing date within 2 weeks and at the hearing the tenant may attend and give their reasons for non payment of rent. The member will then decide if the tenant is to be evicted and if so how long they have to get out.
6. If the tenant does not vacate by the date the CTTT has given you then need to apply for a certified money order and lodge that with the local court and book a time for the local Sheriff to come and take possesion back of the property.
This is another good reason to have a managing agent so that should this process ever happen your agent knows the legislation and process to ensure the best is made out of a bad situation.
If you need any advice please give me a call on 9672-6055
Jess
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