One of the most appealing features of a bankruptcy case is the automatic stay. This is a court order that effectively halts your outstanding creditors from pursuing further collection activities against you. This order may equally apply to your landlord if you are a tenant of a rental property. However, the court may only keep this order in effect under certain circumstances. With that being said, please follow along to find out when an automatic stay may not prevent your eviction and how a proficient Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer at Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center can help you initiate alternative measures.
Under what circumstances might an automatic stay not work to stop an eviction?
First of all, the Kentucky bankruptcy court may not have the jurisdiction to stop your eviction if your landlord obtained a judgment of possession before you filed your bankruptcy petition. This is essentially because the automatic stay may only apply to such attempted collection activities from your filing date onward. On a similar note, they may not keep an automatic stay in place after they order to dismiss your bankruptcy case. At the very most, this hold may only last for 30 days.
But most commonly, landlords make the effort of petitioning the bankruptcy court to lift the automatic stay during their tenant’s bankruptcy proceedings. In doing so, they must demonstrate a cause for lifting the stay. Any of the following reasons may be carefully considered:
- Your landlord may argue that you have failed to make your current rent payments due during your bankruptcy proceedings.
- Your landlord may argue that you have a history of explicitly violating your signed lease agreement.
- Your landlord may argue that you have a history of causing costly damage to the rental property.
- Your landlord may argue that you have a history of participating in illegal activity on the rental property.
- Your landlord may argue that your debt is worth more than the seriously depreciating value of the rental property.
How can I get my landlord to reconsider pursuing eviction proceedings?
Like most things in life, timing is everything when it comes to maintaining your tenancy at a rental property. That is, if your other financial obligations allow you to, it may be in your best interest to pay back all your rent arrears once you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Hopefully, you have enough time before your landlord can even consider filing a petition against you.
But if you are pursuing a Chapter 13 case instead, you may want to communicate to your landlord that you intend to pay them back in full through your court-ordered repayment plan. Being that this is an official, comprehensive schedule, your landlord may be more open to this alternative payment agreement.
In the end, if you are ready to fight to stay in the place you call home, please retain the services of a talented Louisville, Kentucky consumer bankruptcy lawyer. Our team at Schwartz Bankruptcy Law Center awaits your phone call.
