Walk It Through: The Seven Day Letter
Rent late, a written demand, 7 days to pay, mediation before trial, and paying to stay before the writ.
A tenant in Wilmington loses a job and the rent goes unpaid past the date late fees may be charged.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
An eviction for unpaid rent alone. Evictions for broken rules, for a lease that has ended, and a tenant with 2 judgments in 18 months are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Right of redemptionA tenant's right to pay all past due amounts and costs at any time before an eviction for unpaid rent is carried out, vacating the judgment.
- Summary possessionThe court action a landlord brings to take back a rental, after a written demand giving at least 7 days to pay.
- Writ of possessionThe court's order to a constable or sheriff to remove the occupants, carried out between sunrise and sunset after at least 24 hours' notice.