A new legal system making it easier for landlords to evict defaulting tenants has been in force since Saturday when an amended version of the Civil Procedures Code took effect.
Eviction rules listed in the Civil Procedures Code have been amended by a government-initiated bill passed by the legislature in October last year.
The newly amended code streamlines civil procedures aiming to enable landlords to evict tenants who refuse to pay their rent and to move out, within a shorter period of time than previously.
Before, the affected landlords were required to hire a lawyer for their civil procedures to evict defaulting tenants, while according to the streamlined civil procedures, which took effect on Saturday, it is not mandatory anymore for the landlords to hire a lawyer to tackle the issue.
The affected landlords are able to benefit from the newly streamlined procedures if the tenants are at least three months behind in paying their rents.
In order to benefit from the new procedures, the respective landlords are required to notify the tenants in writing about their failure to pay rent, according to the newly amended civil procedures on eviction.
Moreover, only landlords who receive their rent payments into a bank account are covered by the streamlined procedures.
If a defaulting tenant who has received an eviction notice issued by the court fails to move out within 15 days, the landlord can request a court-ordered eviction, after which the tenant must remove all his or her possessions from the flat within 15 days, otherwise the authorities will discard the items, according to the new system.
