Q: Can I issue an eviction notice to a tenant if the lease agreement was verbal and not in writing?
I have a verbal month-to-month lease agreement with a tenant with whom I am renting a room in my home. She has been living in my home for 6 months. --I have provided a notice of eviction in writing stating that I do not want to renew her month-to-month lease. The 30 days that I provided are almost up and the written response that I have received from my tenant is that I have no place to kick her out. Do I have a legal right for eviction in this case?
A: Your right to evict her depends upon whether you issued her a properly, legally worded notice of termination of her tenancy with the legally minimum amount of days, and legally and properly served the notice on her. If so, then yes, you can proceed to evict. While there a myriad of good reasons to have a written rental agreement and few to no good reasons not to, your right to terminate her tenancy and evict if necessary does not depend upon whether you have a written rental agreement. It depends upon whether you have complied with all the legal requirements to terminate the tenancy - and they are the same with or without a written rental agreement.
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