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I am moving back to my house in Maryland where my ex-boyfriend currently resides. We never had a written lease drawn up so everything has just been on a verbal agreement. After I give him the 30 day written notice to vacate I'm afraid he will refuse. How long after the 30 days can I move in and retake my property? What do I do next if he doesn't leave?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to question: Maryland Already Tried: Nothing yet. Just expecting the worst.
Thank you for posting your question to JA/Pearl. Legal questions often take time for research or I may be offline so please be patient, I will reply.I am sorry for your situation. He has the same rights as a tenant whether he has been paying rent or not. You will need to give him a 30 day notice and to be sure that there is proper service, I would suggest having it hand delivered to him by a third party so you can prove in court that he actually received it and he will also know that you are serious. In addition, if he is paying rent, it has to be for a full rental month. In other words you will have to serve him tomorrow for it to be valid the first of August. Otherwise you cannot file a judicial eviction until the first of September. If he does not move, you will have to go to the local magistrate court and file for a judicial eviction.
Ok. He hasn't paid me rent since November of last year! Does that count for anything?
At the same time you can have him served with a five day pay or quit notice to pay the past due rent or vacate the premises. Then if he does not pay you can proceed immediately with the judicial eviction process. The local magistrate will have all the forms and instructions.
I currently live in Nevada so the soonest I can serve him is the 7th on July. That is a Saturday. I can hand write the paper work myself and go with a girlfriend to be my witness correct? Can you tell me exactly what I should have in the letter?
That would be correct as long as you have a witness. For the pay or quit you simply state his name, the address, the amount owed and that he has 5 days to pay the past due rent or vacate the premises. I would serve him with a 30 day notice also at the same time. Just state that he is to vacate within 30 days even if he brings the rent current. That way you have it covered either way.
Okay. Thank you. That answers the proper way to evict him question. Now how long after that can I take back my property?
That would depend on how fast the court acts and whether he files an answer in objection to the eviction. Normally it will be somewhere between 30 and 60 days. The local clerk of the magistrate court can give you a better time line based on their docket at the time you file.
Experience: Practicing attorney with expertise in easements