House & Apartment

Eviction A court case brought by a landlord to get a tenant to move out orders are written court orders signed by a judge in a court case. An eviction order may be entered in:

• An eviction case, where a housing provider asks the judge for possession of the property,
• A foreclosure A forced sale of property when a person doesn't make payments on a loan case, because the owner did not pay the mortgage A loan given by a bank that is used to help someone buy a home for the property, or
• A tax sale case, because the owner did not pay property taxes.

An eviction order may list:

• Specific people by name, and
• "Unknown Occupants," meaning adult Any person 18 years old or over residents whose names were not known by the party A person or business involved in a court case in a role like plaintiff, petitioner, defendant, respondent, or intervenor. filing the case. 

Some orders include a stay date. Others give immediate possession. A stay date sets a date and time before which the sheriff A county officer who can serve people with summons. They can evict someone with a court order. cannot enforce Taking legal steps to make someone do what the court tells them to do the order. The housing provider must schedule the eviction with the sheriff. Only the sheriff can physically enforce the order.

Before enforcement, a person named in the order may file a motion A request to the judge to make the court or a party in the case do something in the same case asking the judge to delay or stop enforcement. After the sheriff completes the eviction:

• The property owner may change the locks,
• A person who enters or tries to enter may be removed or arrested for criminal trespass,
• The person who was evicted may ask the court to remove the case from the public record if legal requirements are met.