Legal Q&A: Evicting someone from a garage. Process any different?

October 7, 2014

Question: We have a one-year lease with a tenant that will expire in four months. If we sell the house now, and the buyer wants to move in, would we be able to break the lease?

Answer: The buyer “steps into the shoes” of the seller and the lease is binding upon the new owner.

Ted Kimball
Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP

Question: I allowed a tenant to move in and pay the security deposit in several payments. They are not able to make the final payment. What can I do?

Answer: You can serve a three-day notice to perform conditions or covenants or quit. If the tenant fails to pay the deposit within three days from legal service of the notice, you can commence the eviction process (unlawful detainer).

Question: Is the procedure for evicting a tenant from a garage any different than for a tenant who lives in a residential unit? Is delivering a notice to a post office box legally acceptable?

Answer: The eviction process is the same. The notice should be mailed to the post office box and another copy attached to the door of the garage the same day. Even though it may not be delivered, send another notice via mail, same day to the garage, since the code literally requires mailing and posting to the rented premises.

Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP is a full service real estate law firm representing residential and commercial property owners and managers. This article is for general information purposes only. Laws may have changed since this article was published. Before acting, be sure to receive legal advice from our office. If you have questions, please contact your local KTS office. For contact information, please visit our website: www.kts-law.com. For past Legal Alerts, Questions & Answers, and Legal Articles, please consult the resource library section of our website.

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