Can I be evicted if I file Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Can I be evicted if I file Chapter 7 bankruptcy?
Asked on March 31, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Bankruptcy will stay, or temporarily halt, eviction proceedings (as well as law suits or collection actions) based on previously unpaid rent. However, if you continue to not pay rent after filing bankruptcy, the landlord will be able to evict you; the bankruptcy does not give you the right to live rent free in someone else's property. How long the stay, or halt, on eviction will last depends on many factors, including how crowded your local courts' dockets are and how aggressively the landlord applies to the court from relief from the stay.
(As a general matter, bankruptcies affect debts up to when they are filed--they do not necessarily affect continuing or later-incurred debts or monetary obligations.)
A bankruptcy should not effect eviction based on non-financial grounds, such as the expiration and nonrenewal of a lease or violation of nonpayment lease terms. It may very briefly stop the eviction, as the court may not let it go forward until the court is satisfied that the eviction is not based on a debt (unpaid rent), but that may only be a very brief stay, until the landlord can move for relief and provide evidence that the eviction is not predicated on a debt.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.