How do I get someone to leave my property if I told them that they could stay there for a couple of months but now they won’t leave?
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How do I get someone to leave my property if I told them that they could stay there for a couple of months but now they won’t leave?
Several months ago, I told a friend they could park their camper in my driveway because they didn’t have any place else to go I told him it was short-term and that they’d have to leave in a couple of
months they don’t have access to the house but I do think that they are tapping into my power I now need them to move because I’m in the process of selling the house and the buyer will not complete the transaction until I get these people out. How do I do that? I have asked them several times to leave but they won’t.
Asked on May 15, 2018 under Real Estate Law, South Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
You have to file what is traditionally known as an action for "ejectment" (though it is possible that your state has a different name for it), which you can think of as "eviction for non-tenants"--that is, as evicting someone who is not paying rent but whom you allowed to stay on or at the property (i.e. who was not a trespasser). A guest--that is, anyone whom you let stay on your property but who is not a rent-paying tenant--has no legal right to remain once you tell them to do, so there is little or no doubt but that you will win and they will have to leave. However, you have to do this the right way: provide proper written notice to leave; then file the action, complying with all procedural requirements, and get the court to order them to go. An ejectment action can be "technical" in the sense that it has specific deadlines and paperwork requirements--if you violate them, your case will be dismissed "without prejudice" and you will have to start over. You are strongly advised to retain an attorney (a landlord-tenant attorney is a good idea; they generally know how to eject guests, too) to help you.
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