• Evictions must comply with landlord tenant laws.apartment balconies image by Christopher Dodge from Fotolia.com
  
  Tenants who violate the terms of their lease agreements can face eviction. While all states allow tenants to be evicted, the procedures through which the landlord must go differ from state to state. In general, state laws require landlords to comply with notification and civil procedure laws when evicting a tenant from a rental property.
  
  

Lease Violation

• Generally, renters can only be evicted if they are unlawfully present in a dwelling. This can happen if the renter violates one of the terms of the lease agreement, which can be oral or in writing. The most common reason an agreement is violated is because the tenant fails to pay the rent, but any violation of the terms of the lease can be sufficient for the landlord to seek an eviction. For example, if the lease does not allow pets, a landlord may be able to evict a tenant for owning a dog or other pet and keeping it at the property.
  
  

Notice

• Whenever a landlord wants to evict a tenant, states generally require some form of notice to be given prior to and during the eviction process. For example, Iowa law requires that any time a tenant fails to pay rent, a landlord must provide a three-day notice in the form of a "Notice to Cure or Quit." This notice informs the tenant that the rent is overdue, and that the landlord intends to end the lease agreement if the tenant hasn't paid the rent within three days.
  
  

Lawsuit

• If a landlord has complied with state notice laws, the next step in the eviction process is typically a lawsuit. In this suit, the landlord asks the court for permission to evict the tenant under the laws of forcible entry and detainer. Because tenants enjoy the right to peaceful use of the property, landlords typically cannot enter a building unless they are specifically allowed to do so. When the forcible detainer suit is approved, the landlord can force the tenant to leave the property. Like all other lawsuits, the tenant has the right to defend himself before the court. If the landlord wins the case, he can have the tenant evicted, often by having the local law enforcement agency forcibly remove the tenant from the property.