Landlord Rights in Bankruptcy

Phoenix Real Estate Attorney

If you have a tenant in bankruptcy, you as a landlord must follow the rules of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to enforce your rights. The Code does provide you with remedies for non-payment of rent and other breaches of contract by the tenant. A real estate attorney in Phoenix from the legal team of Schern Richardson Finter can assist you to enforce your rights.

Landlord Rights

If you had a pre-bankruptcy judgment to evict the tenant, the filing of the bankruptcy action puts an automatic stay on your actions. The code however allows you to proceed with your eviction 30 days after the bankruptcy filing. The tenant may request that the stay on eviction be continued by filing a statement with the court stating that conditions which led to the tenant's default have been handled and that the tenant has deposited the rent money with the court. With this statement and deposit, the court will continue the stay against eviction.

Should the tenant endanger the property or use illegal drugs on the premises, the landlord may file a request for relief from the stay. The landlord will be allowed to proceed with the eviction unless the tenant protests. Then the matter is dealt with at a hearing.

Where there has been a lease in force, the bankruptcy trustee may allow the tenant to reject the lease. At that point the tenant will of course have to leave. If the trustee has not affirmed the lease within 60 days after the bankruptcy filing, the lease is automatically rejected and the landlord may proceed to evict the tenants, even if they have paid the rent up to that point. We help landlords whose tenants have declared bankruptcy. We advise landlord clients as to what they must do to enforce their rights and assist them with the appropriate filings for eviction.

Contact a Phoenix Real Estate Attorney at the firm helps enforce landlord rights in bankruptcy.