If moving is stressful, then moving on short notice is twice as stressful. Moving because you’re being evicted, however, is the epitome of stress. Not only do you need to organize and perform your relocation within a very limited time frame, but it may be a very inconvenient time for you, you may be experiencing financial problems at the moment, you may not have a place to move to, etc.
And if you’re a landlord who needs to evict a tenant, the situation will be no less stressful for you, even though you won’t be moving – you will need to file a case against the tenant and take care of the actual eviction process.
Fortunately, in both cases, you can use eviction moving services to make things easier and reduce the stress.
So, what are eviction moving services? When might you need to use them and why?
Here is everything you need to know:
What is an eviction?
First things first, you need to know what eviction actually is.
In a word, eviction is the court-ordered removal of a tenant from their rental property.
An eviction occurs when a landlord requires tenants to move out and gives them a certain amount of time to do so but they don’t leave before the deadline.
There are two main reasons why a tenant may be evicted – violations of the lease agreement or termination of the tenancy by the landlord.
Lease violations
A landlord has the right to evict tenants if they do not adhere to the rental agreement:
- Not paying the rent on time and in full
- Causing damage to the rental property
- Behaving in a disruptive way
- Keeping a pet in the home without permission
- Housing a person who is not on the lease agreement
- Using the rental property for illegal activities
- Subleasing the place to another person without permission
- Not vacating the property when the lease is up.
In such cases, the landlord can give the tenant a notice to:
- “Pay or Quit” – the tenant is required to pay all the rent money they own for missed or incomplete payments or move out;
- “Cure or Quit” – the tenant is required to rectify the situation (remove a pet or a person from the rental property, repair damages, stop causing nuisance or disturbance, etc.) or move out;
- “Quit” – the tenant is required to move out, unconditionally.
All such notices have a deadline (usually 30 days) by which the tenants must fix the problem or leave the rental property.
Related: Tenant move out checklist
Termination of the tenancy by the landlord
Even if the tenants haven’t done anything wrong, the landlord may want them to move out. The landlord can end the tenancy:
- at the end of the rental period – if the landlord does not wish to renew the rental agreement;
- when they need the property for personal or family use – if the landlord or a family member intends to live in the property;
- when they want to sell the property – if the landlord intends to sell the property within nine months of the termination date;
- when they want to renovate the property – if the landlord intends to make repairs or substantial refurbishment of the property.
In such cases, the landlord is required to give the tenants a written notice of termination 30, 60, or 90 days in advance (or more, depending on the lease) and state the grounds for ending the tenancy.
In case the tenants don’t move out by the deadline stated in the Notice of Termination, the landlord can file a lawsuit against them and evict them from the property.
What do eviction movers do?
As the name suggests, eviction movers are professional movers who offer help in case of an eviction. They have the extensive training and rich experience to handle eviction moves in the smoothest way possible.
The pros know the various laws and regulations that apply to evictions and understand the complexity and the urgency of the situation, so they complete the job in a safe and efficient manner, in accordance with all the relevant rules. They also provide the legal eviction documentation and paperwork required by the court, police, and banks.
What’s more, most eviction moving companies have secure storage facilities where to keep the belongings of the tenants if necessary.
All in all, when an eviction moving company is involved in the process, things become much easier for both the landlord and the tenants.
Related: What to expect from professional movers
Who may want to hire eviction moving services?
As can be seen from the above, using eviction moving services is beneficial for both the landlord and the renters who are facing eviction.
Tenants being evicted
If you, as a tenant, have received a notice of termination or an unconditional notice to quit, your best option is to move out within the notice period – so you can avoid official eviction.
If you get evicted by a court decision, it may become very difficult for you to rent again in the future as the eviction is likely to come up in tenant screening (not to mention that any eviction-related debts will appear on your credit report and will lower your credit score).
Moving out before eviction will save you a lot of trouble down the road, so, if things come to that, you should try to leave the rental property as quickly as possible. The easiest way to do so is to hire emergency moving services – and eviction movers can perfectly suit your needs.
The experts will organize the logistics and will do all the work for you – they will pack your items with record speed, will take them out of the rental home and load them into the moving truck without causing any damage to the property (or to your belongings) in the process, and will transport your possessions to your new home or to a storage facility in case you haven’t found a place to move to yet.
Using eviction moving services will greatly reduce the stress of the situation and will give you peace of mind that your items are in good hands (eviction moving companies are properly licensed and insured and the moving crews consist of well trained, highly skilled, and experienced professionals). The pros will take care of everything from start to finish and you will be able to focus on getting your life back on track after the emergency move.
See also: How to organize an emergency move
Landlords who need to evict tenants
If you’re a landlord and find yourself in a situation where you have to evict tenants, your best bet is to hire an eviction moving company.
The eviction process is quite tricky – you need to be very careful to complete the procedure correctly and to strictly follow all the relevant legal regulations.
Remember that landlords are not allowed to cut the utilities, enter the living space, or touch the tenants’ movable property. If a landlord removes the tenants’ belongings from the rental unit, damages them in any way, or leaves them on the curb, they will get sued.
The eviction must be carried out by a Marshal or Sheriff – or by a properly licensed eviction moving company that follows all the legal procedures and can provide all the necessary documents. The tenants’ belongings must be moved to a safe place where they can be retrieved from without difficulty.
So, if you, as a landlord, need to evict a tenant, you have two options – hire legal services or hire eviction movers. Legal services can be quite complicated and very expensive, so an eviction moving company is your better option.
The pros will do everything by law to evict your tenants, will take care of the paperwork, will handle any personal belongings in a safe and efficient manner, and will find a suitable storage solution.
Hiring eviction moving services will save you a lot of time, effort, and stress – and will ensure that you won’t have any problems.
Bonus tip: Whether you’re a tenant or a landlord, when hiring eviction movers, you need to make sure they’re licensed and trustworthy – trained and experienced professionals who are familiar with the legal matters and provide quality moving services.
It’s a good idea to get binding estimates from a couple of reputable eviction movers, compare the offers, research the companies, and choose qualified and reliable professionals to work with. Be sure to explain the court’s decision and the entire situation to them in detail so they know exactly what to do and things go as smoothly as possible.
See also: How to choose a moving company
How much do moving companies charge for eviction?
Using eviction moving services is safe and convenient, but you should keep in mind that due to the nature of the job, hiring eviction movers is more expensive than hiring regular moving services.
First of all, eviction moving companies are typically hired on short notice – and hiring movers in the last moment always costs more.
Secondly, eviction moves require legal expertise, so the rates are higher than the standard moving rates.
Last but not least, eviction movers are legally not allowed to throw anything away and must pack everything in the rental unit that does not belong to the landlord – even garbage. So, the process takes more time and effort – and, therefore, the moving costs are higher.
Needless to say, the actual cost of hiring eviction movers depends on the specifics of the case, so in order to find out how much using eviction moving services will cost you, you need to get a personalized quote from a reputable eviction moving company.
See also: How much does it cost to hire movers
