Q: How to get rid of tenants posessions, who is no where to be found and has not paid rent? First of all.
We have a "Tentant", who has not paid rent. We are unable to find the tenant for two weeks. We cannot get hold of the tentant. No one is living in the rented space (residential apartment). Can we change the locks? Can we go ahead and get rid of the posession and rent to someone else. It is october 18th and rent was due on october 1st. Called police, they say hire a lawyer. Called the court, they say hire a lawyer. Trying to understand, if the person cannot be found, we cannot get hold of the person. What will a lawyer do here? Please help
A: You can obtain a court order for "possession only" of the property by filing a 'detainer warrant" in general sessions court (Tennessee only- Virginia may have a similar process). Instead of serving/delivering the lawsuit papers to the person, the sheriff's deputies can "post" ( tape a copy on the door) the papers on the front door/main entrance of the property. You can't get a money judgment against the tenant this way, but again, you can get a judgment saying you are entitled to possession of the property. When that judgment is "final"- there is a 10 day period for appeals, then you can change the locks. At that point you will have to decide what to do with the stuff the tenant left there. On the day you break in and change the locks, you should take lots of photographs of the property and its contents to document what was there and what wasn't. The tenant will sometime sue the landlord for disposing of their "valuable antiques" left inside the rental, so you should anticipate that kind of claim.
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