Landlords and Month to Month Leases

[TurnThePage]

Am I protected by the automatic stay in a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy with a Month to Month rental lease?? Who has the Option to continue or reject this monthly lease in Chapter 13?

[flashoflight]

I question whether you need to have the landlord listed as a creditor on a month-t0-month assuming there are no rent arrears and you're not co-signing the lease for some other person. In other words, the lease and your/your landlord's rights to end the lease is the same as if you never declared bankruptcy.

[TurnThePage]

This one is complicated because the Landlord, a family member, is about to do a "self-help eviction." Hence the rent arrears for December and January. Will the automatic stay protect me?

[justbroke]

This one is complicated because the Landlord, a family member, is about to do a "self-help eviction." Hence the rent arrears for December and January. Will the automatic stay protect me?

Are you going to file a Chapter 13 bankruptcy soon, or are you asking whether an existing (Chapter 13) automatic stay protects you? If you're filing soon, it may help but the lease is expired so it wouldn't really help. It would only delay the inevitable... an eviction.

If you have an existing Chapter 13 and this is new debt (arrears after filing), then the automatic stay doesn't really help you. The landlord would be smart by filing a Motion for Relief from Stay (RFS) just to make sure it doesn't exist or apply. The landlord should then take action after being granted relief, and proceed under state non-bankruptcy law.

Generally, a Chapter 13 does not help any debtor stay in a leasehold when they can't bring the lease current quickly. If there's no lease or the lease is expired, then the Chapter 13 can't force the landlord to renew or extend the lease. An expired lease can't be assumed in a bankruptcy which means that there is nothing for the court to enforce. I always say that someone living on a month-to-month tenancy is at risk.

The manner in which an eviction is executed is a state-law (or city/county ordinance) issue. A month-to-month is not an active lease so they would need to follow the state/city/county guidelines to obtain a eviction judgment. Please avoid an eviction judgment at all costs. It will make it extremely difficult to rent from any landlord (or management company) that uses credit reporting.

Self-help evictions are never good for the landlord.