Evicting someone who's water's been shut off

[Aaron Corleone]

I have a tenant who we are in the process of evicting. Just waiting for the paperwork from the local magistrate. However, we just got a water shut-off notice saying water was shut off on the 12 of October (today is the 14th). The tenant is responsible for all utilities. I've been told by a work associate (obviously, not an expert! But he has been through this before) that you can change the locks and use this to get the tenant out since not paying since it's something that is lienable. Is that true? His stuff is still there and I know I also need to give him 10 days to get his stuff out. But he's been dodging me and I'd love to change the locks so that he'll contact me. Just want to talk to the dude and work something out. 

[Nicole A.]

I'm sure that you could Google eviction laws in your rental property's county to verify this. But I would guess the answer is no. You're already in the process of eviction you said, so just continue that path. If the next step is to give him a 10-day notice, then do it today. I'm sure there's multiple ways of giving said notice such as posting on the door, certified mail, etc. Google it to see if you can get more details.