courthouse eviction process- las vegas

[Nat C.]

I went to the courthouse and got a 5 day notice to pay or quit and served it to the tenants who is over 1 month overdue in rent. Today they gave me a form from the court saying they contest my application and quoted their reason as:

'We tried to pay the landlord the rent but she refused to accept our money'.

Their claim is pretty waffery and I think they could have been more creative and said a unicorn stole their rent money or something.

Next week I am going back to the courthouse to apply for an eviction order. Will the tenants fake rebuttal story make things more difficult for me?

[Thomas Williamson]

I had a similar situation here in Georgia. In Georgia the tenant has a set amount of time to file an answer to an eviction, which is what your tenants did. If they file an answer, a hearing is set where both sides give their arguments to the judge. In the county I live in, the judge always tells everyone in the court before hearings start, "I don't care what your excuse is, lost a job, lost your paycheck, disagreement with your landlord, the bottom line is if you haven't paid the rent, then you are in violation, and a judgement will be granted to the plaintiff." That usually clears out half the courtroom after that speech.

Once the judge hears arguments and you show the judge that the tenants story is BS, then a judgment most likely will be granted in your favor. A lot of "professional tenants" know how to work the system, and know all the tricks to play to prolong eviction. The worst case scenario (which has happened to me twice) is that even though you win the judgment, the tenant may be able to file an appeal, which in GA stops the eviction, an you have to wait another month for the next court date.

The tenants figure it's cheaper to file the 200.00 appeals fee in magistrate court here, than to pay another months full rent. I hope you prevail, good luck.