How to start the eviction of a tenant who breaches a contract

One of the biggest problems that a person may go through when renting his/her apartment is that the tenant does not pay rent or that he/she breaches the lease contract. Even though nobody likes to go through this situation, the truth is that if the tenant does not comply with his/her duties, the landlord will have to end up filing a court order for eviction.

For those who are in a situation like this in Buenos Aires, and who may have to get an eviction order from Court, here are some tips and steps to follow.

First of all, it is always recommended that you get advice from a lawyer, since he/she will help you and tell you what you should (and shouldn’t) do in your special situation. Otherwise, you may end up having more problems if you make a mistake, like getting your tenant to sue you.

Generally, the steps to follow when trying to get an eviction order for a tenant that breaches a contract is more or less the following in Buenos Aires:

-    First, you should probably send a legal notice where you inform the tenant that if he/she does not comply with his/her obligations, you will be forced to file an order for eviction (you should detail the cause of the notice, like lack of payment, termination of the lease contract, etc.)

-    If the tenant fails to answer, you will then probably have to file an order for eviction. Due to the new legislation in the City of Buenos Aires (law no. 684 bis), there is a faster way of getting the eviction order. Before this law came into effect, the landlord may have to wait years in order to get his property back. This new type of procedure only applies in those cases where the tenant fails to pay rent for a couple of months, or if the lease contract has expired. After proving that the landlord is right (and that he/she is not lying or hiding information), the eviction order should come out quickly.

In order to prove that the tenant is not complying with the lease contract, the landlord will have to file documentation on the matter. Within the proof the owner may file we can mention the lease contract, the bank account details (if the tenant used to deposit rent) or the receipts of the landlord (showing the landlord has not paid during the last few months), etc.

As we have mentioned at the beginning, it is always recommended that you ask a specialist who may assist you so you don’t have more problems and you solve the situation faster.