What will it take for my landlord to evict me?

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What will it take for my landlord to evict me?

I have a residential purchase agreement with an individual. This is not a rent to own lease. The woman I am purchasing the house from has decided to evict my family and I from the home. What steps will she be required to take and can I be held financially responsible for the remainder owed or repairs to the home? I live in the state of Arkansas.

Asked on June 16, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Arkansas

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

If we understand your question correctly, you have an agreement to buy the home, but have not yet bought it; and in the meantime, do not have a lease and are not paying rent to stay there. If that is the case, if you are neither renting the home nor own it, you are legally a "guest" of hers, and a guest may be asked to leave at any time, for any reason. She can require you to leave and if you do not, may bring an "ejectment" action (eviction for non-tenants, basically) in court to remove you.
If you have an agreement to buy the home on which you have paid part but still owe more money, if residence at the home in the meantime is not part of or included in the agreement (e.g. she has been letting you stay there while buying, but the contract itself doesn't address the issue of whether you can or cannot stay there), the contract to buy should still be in effect: you can buy the house, and indeed, are still responsible to buy it (can be held liable for the remaining money due under the contract): in this instance, "buying" and "living there" are legally separate, since the contract only covered buying, and the current owner had let you live there as a favor or accommodation, one she can withdraw or renege on.
On the other hand, if the contract to buy the home states that so long as you are making payments on it, you can live there, then she *cannot* remove you (assuming you are current)--as long as you are complying with your obligations under the contract, you are entitiled to the rights and benefits you get under it. So if there is a contract, review what rights you have from the contract.
If your situation is not as we perceived in answering this question, please repost with additional facts or details.


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.

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