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You are here: More Topics > Landlord/Tenant > Evictions Questions & Answers: A Guide for Landlords > What does the landlord do if the tenant doesn't respond in time?
First, the landlord must make sure that the tenant's time to respond is over.
Then, the landlord must ask the court to make an order in his/her favor. This is called a "default judgment" and it means the tenant won't be able to fight the case in court.
To do this, the landlord must fill out and file these forms:
If there is more than one defendant in the case, the landlord can ask for a default against the ones that have not responded.
If the landlord wants to get an order giving him/her possession of the property right away, s/he can first just ask for a Clerk's Judgment for Possession. The landlord can do that on form UD-110 or ask the court to see if they have a simpler form for this.
The landlord won't be able to include back rent in this Clerk's Judgment, but if the clerk confirms that the landlord has done everything correctly, s/he can process it and give it to the landlord very quickly. With the Judgment for Possession, the landlord can get the Writ of Execution, which is the document that s/he gives to the Sheriff to evict the tenant.
The landlord can later ask for a Judgment that includes back rent and court costs.
Alert! If the landlord doesn't ask for a "default judgment" as soon as the tenant's time to answer is up, the tenant will have more time to answer. The tenant will be able to file a response as long as the landlord doesn't file the Request for Entry of Default.
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Last modified: 03/17/2008
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