How hard it is to Evict a tenant in Cleveland please??

Question

Hi everyone and happy thanks giving to you all!

wondering how hard it is to file an eviction against a tenant in Cleveland? any tips and pointers you might have?

also would like to know if you know any local pro who cal help me facilitate this... I am out of country.

thank you :-)

James Wise · Answer

Yea Cleveland is particular with what movers you use. They need to already be approved by the housing court. Shoot me a PM and I can get some names over to you.

James Wise · Answer

Sure shoot me a PM and I can get some names over to you.

William Selig · Answer

@James Wise

I really appreciate your response post. Just wondering if you have any recommendations for attorney/movers in the Cleveland area to facilitate an eviction. We just bought a duplex recently and I have the feeling we are going to have to do one on an inherited tenant.

James Wise · Answer

This may change in the future but right now our management service area is limited to Cuyahoga County only.

Shanti Jimenez · Answer

@James Wise same, if you might happen to have a referral. Thanks much.

Shanti Jimenez · Answer

@Oren K. I have a property in Glenville where I need to do rapid repairs and may need to evict the tenant. Would you mind referring me to someone who can help me move on an eviction fairly quickly please?

James Wise · Answer

Good point Oren. There are several other housing court systems for the surrounding suburbs and all are a little different. Most are more owner friendly then the city of Cleveland proper. Cleveland proper is the most liberal IMO.

Also worth noting that my team has a portfolio that extends much further then just the West Side. We started out on the West Side but have since expanded to several hundred units on the other side of town primarily in Cleveland Heights, Euclid, South Euclid, Garfied, Maple Heights & Bedford.

Oren K. · Answer

Lior,

Just checking if you mean the City of Cleveland or one of the surrounding municipalities (inner or outer) as it changes a bit on a city by city basis. I'm sure @James Wise knows his stuff for Cleveland proper and the West side as he deals with it day in and day out but others may / do have slightly different procedures / rules

In the city of East Cleveland;

- Serve the 3 Day notice (assuming like James simple non-payment of rent)

- File on Tenant (you usually get a court date within 2-3 weeks), cost $155 I believe

- In court, show that there is a lease and there is non-payment (I've actually sat in on this and watched the property manager / eviction lawyer basically read a script covering all the legal points)

- Judge will usually give 7 - 10 days for tenant to get out (with or without stuff)  OR get landlord to accept payment (even if payment is offered many landlords decline as they don't want the tenant)

- On eviction day (if the tenant is not already out), court officials show up to remove the tenant at which point you can change the lock. Anything left in the unit is considered abandoned and can be put in the trash

There any number of lawyers whose entire practice (just kidding) is evicting tenants across multiple municipalities so let us know where the property is and I'm sure we can dig up a referral if you need one.

Oren

James Wise · Answer

With over 800 rentals in the land under management I evict 100+ people per year in Cleveland. So long as you have a lease & it's a simple non payment of rent issue it's pretty cut & dry. The new magistrate is pretty liberal when it comes to security deposit issues and what is & isn't considered normal wear & tear. The previous Judge Raymond Pianka who ran the housing court was much more owner friendly but he recently passed away.

As you are out of state you'll need to hire an attorney to handle this all for you. I imagine you do not have a person on the ground who can physically post a 3 day notice for you so the best bet is to have the attorney do it via certified mail. The attorney can get you from 3 Day notice to the Writ of restitution. At that point you'll also need to pay someone to meet with court appointed movers (who you'll also be paying) to go to the home make entry, change locks & remove all the belongings to be placed on the curb. After 5pm they have to go back to remove and later store (at your cost) anything that was left on said curb.