Wyoming Eviction Overview
Wyoming eviction laws play a crucial role in moderating the relationship between landlords and tenants and in ensuring the protection of both parties’ legal rights. The purpose of eviction laws is to provide a legal process for a landlord to remove a tenant from a property for reasons such as non-payment of rent or violations of the lease agreement. In the broader context of the landlord-tenant relationship, however, eviction laws in Wyoming serve not only to protect landlords from wrongful evictions but also to ensure that tenants have adequate protections under the law.
Under Wyoming law, a landlord cannot simply force a tenant to vacate if the tenant does not want to leave. A formal eviction process must be followed which generally involves filing an action at law with the local district court , obtaining a judgment against the tenant, and then engaging law enforcement to remove the tenant from the property. Along with serving the ends of justice, eviction laws in Wyoming exist to discourage self-help evictions or retaliatory evictions by the landlord, to ensure that tenants are given ample opportunity to catch up on overdue rent if possible, and to enhance the effectiveness of the administration of the law. Like other areas of the landlord-tenant relationship, eviction laws in Wyoming are complicated by the interplay of state statutes, rules of procedure, and common law principles.
This article is intended to provide a basic tutorial on the eviction process as it is applied in Wyoming state courts and will provide links to various forms and resources that may be useful to landlords who wish to file an eviction action.
Causes for Eviction in Wyoming
Landlords in Wyoming have several legal options for evicting a tenant. While a landlord must provide a legal reason or "grounds" to terminate a lease, it does not need to have a really good reason for terminating. As a practical matter, however, this lack of a requirement for good reason often results in landlords acting in bad faith.
The Wyoming Residential Rental Property Act lists the following grounds for eviction: non-payment of rent, lease violations, willful damage to the property, causing, creating, or maintaining a nuisance, failure to comply with an ordinance in regard to health and safety, failure to comply with rules and regulations, abandonment of the premises, felony conviction, a tenant is holding over, or where the landlord seeks possession for their own use and occupancy and pays an amount agreed to.
Notice: A landlord must provide a tenant with the notice required by statute before filing an eviction lawsuit. For non-payment of rent, a landlord must provide 5 days’ written notice of failure to pay rent before proceeding with an eviction lawsuit. For a lease violation, a landlord must provide a 10 day conditional notice to remedy or vacate the premises. For all other grounds, a landlord must provide 3 days’ conditional notice to remedy or vacate the premises. Failure to provide proper notice can result in discovery of the action on the merits (essentially a win for the tenant).
Every notice provided by a landlord to terminate a rental agreement must be in writing, signed by the landlord or someone authorized to sign for the landlord, and must include the date of expiration of the notice period. It is also good practice for the notice to describe the basis for the termination, whether just the lease will be terminated or just the tenant must vacate, and if a tenant is not permitted to pay rent and stay. The notice must be given in person to the tenant or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested. Taking a photograph of the notice taped to the door of the rental unit or another location on the rental property is good practice in the event a tenant denies receiving the notice.
The Eviction Process in Wyoming
The eviction process in Wyoming begins, of course, with the lease. Because a written Wyoming lease must include specific terms as required by statute, a lease that omits any of the required terms does not create a tenancy and thus, a landlord need not follow the statutory process to evict a tenant. When a lease has been created, however, the landlord must then determine whether a termination notice is necessary, or whether a termination notice may be given.
Wyoming’s residential lease statutes do not require a landlord to send a tenant a termination notice prior to filing an eviction action. However, an effective termination may be accomplished either through the lease, simply by terminating the lease when it has expired or giving written notice to the tenant; or by operation of law, as when the tenant has vacated the premises or has abandoned property on the premises. Therefore, while not legally required, it is the practice of most landlords to provide some sort of written notice to the tenant that an eviction action will be filed due to the tenant’s failure to comply with the lease. A termination notification is most likely a prudent measure in that it may provide the tenant with the time necessary to remedy the lease violation. Wyoming’s residential lease statutes require only that a tenant receive seven (7) days’ notice to vacate and ten (10) days notice to remedy or surrender the premises that has a stay of at least thirty (30) days.
If the tenant fails to comply with the notice, the landlord may file an action to evict the tenant from the apartment. A residential eviction action is commenced by filing a complaint with the appropriate Wyoming district court or circuit court. The Short Form Unlawful Detainer Complaint is the appropriate filing for residential evictions. Under Wyoming law, a complaint regarding an unlawful detainer claim may be verified by any person with knowledge, but the Short Form Unlawful Detainer Complaint specifically requires verification.
A landlord seeking to evict a tenant must have established lawful entry and residence, a written lease, and a legitimate reason for eviction, such as non-payment of rent or breach of the lease. The Complaint must either set forth the requirements of notice to terminate the lease and an unlawful detainer action, as described above, or it must affirmatively state that no notice is required. The Complaint must also indicate that the lease has been breached or terminated for the reasons alleged.
A summons notifying the tenant of the claim and requiring the tenant to file a responsive pleading is issued with the Complaint. Under Wyoming law, a tenant served in person has fourteen (14) days to respond, while a tenant may have thirty (30) days to respond if personally served outside of the county or served by publication. Either party may ask an execution of judgment be entered by the court if the other party fails to answer within five (5) days of the expiration of the time period for answering. If the tenant responds, a hearing will be set. After the hearing, the court will issue a judgment for either party. A judgment may award possession of the premises and, possibly, rent and damages.
As A Tenant, May I Defend Myself During An Eviction?
Tenants are well protected by the law in Wyoming, and have a number of options and rights when it comes to contesting an eviction. At the start of every eviction process moves through three phases: (1) the notice period, (2) the eviction hearing, and (3) the eviction itself (if the landlord wins). The first thing to do is find out if you received a notice that complies with the law. This guide’s previously provided breakdown of the types of notices landlords can give, and what those notices must contain, will help you determine if you may have a case under the eviction statute. If the notice appears invalid, it is often best to consult with legal counsel before challenging it in court.
If an eviction goes to trial, it is often in the tenant’s best interest to present evidence and otherwise defend against the eviction. If the tenant fails to show up, a default judgment will go against the tenant, giving the landlord the right to evict the tenant. In a trial, while the tenant must show up, and while the burden of going first is on the landlord (the plaintiff), nothing requires the defendant/tenant to actually present evidence—though doing so will likely improve his chances at winning the case. The tenant can appeal an adverse judgment under the usual rules for appeals in civil litigation.
Lastly, the tenant does not have to leave the premises immediately following the judge’s order to leave. The Wyoming eviction statutes clearly provide tenants with the right to ten days after an order is entered to vacate, and they can use this extra time to get their affairs in order, and avoid having to live out of a car if the judgment is made in favor of the landlord. In the event a tenant does not leave in ten days, the landlord must seek a writ of restitution (a court order compelling the tenant to leave) from the court, which the sheriff is then authorized to execute.
Ways To Legally Evict A Tenant In Wyoming
To lawfully evict a tenant in Wyoming, you must first provide notice to your tenant. The appropriate notice depends on the reason for ending the tenancy.
Non-Payment of Rent: If your tenant has not paid rent, you can provide a 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent to the tenant that requires them to pay the outstanding rent within 5-days or vacate the property. Additionally, if they fail to pay the rent, you may begin regular eviction proceedings after 5 days.
Lease Violations: If the tenant has violated the terms of the lease, then you have a choice. For violations that can be remedied, such as having a dog in a "no pets permitted" property, you can issue a 7-day Notice to Remedy that identifies the violation and gives the tenant 7 days to fix it or vacate.
However, some lease violations are not curable, such as damages to the premises or criminal activity. In such cases, you should provide a 14-day Notice of Termination. The 14-day notice terminates a rental agreement due to non-compliance with any term of a rental agreement other than rent when the noncompliance is not curable and the rental agreement does not otherwise set a remedy for noncompliance.
For an unlawful detainer (possession), Wyoming law provides a 30-day notice period to reestablish possession of the home. You must provide a notice 30 days in advance. This notice can be given during the period of a rental agreement or after the termination or expiration of the rental agreement.
If the tenant fails to comply with your notice and refuses to move from the property , there are procedures that you must follow to evict them.
You may file either an "unlawful detainer" action or a "summary proceeding." In an unlawful detainer action, you are seeking to recover the property from an unlawful occupant. Filing an unlawful detainer action with the county clerk precludes the tenant/respondent from asserting any other claim for possession of the property. A summary proceeding can be filed to recover the property when it is claimed without color of title and against the statute. It includes actions by a landlord seeking to regain possession of unoccupied rental property which the landlord has no rights to possession of.
When you file either action, you may petition the court to summarily issue a writ of restitution. This is an order to the sheriff to remove the tenant and their belongings from the premises. If the tenant has vacated the premises, the writ of restitution would not apply.
Wyoming is a "pay-to-play" state, meaning that the plaintiff (such as the landlord) must pay the filing and service fees.
After you file the action against the defendant, the Court sets a hearing date. The hearing date must be at least 7 days after the notice was served on the tenant. The notice can be served by the sheriff or a process server by certified mail or similar courier system.
After proper notice is given, the court must issue a summons that is served on the tenant.
The Consequences For An Illegal Eviction
A tenant who is the victim of an illegal eviction has two options. First, they can immediately report the illegal eviction to law enforcement or in court. Second, the tenant can sue you for damages depending on the severity of the illegal eviction. As a Wyoming landlord, you are not permitted to forcibly evict a tenant.
If you forcibly evict your tenants by means of physical retaliation, harassment, removal of belongings, or renouncing their right to possession or physical control of the unit, you are committing a Class A Misdemeanor. Upon conviction, you will be paying a hefty fine to the state of Wyoming – between $500 and $1,000. For the duration of the offense, it is possible that you will be sentenced to jail time. If any portion of the offense occurred within the presence of your tenant, it is also possible that you will be held in contempt of court. Apart from civil damages, the tenant may report your act to law enforcement. If your tenant feels threatened and believes that further illegal acts might occur, you may be arrested on charges of criminal trespassing and verbal abuse. If your tenant suffers physical or psychological damages from the illegal eviction, there’s a higher probability that you will be brought before a judge. Because the state of Wyoming takes illegal evictions seriously, it is possible that in addition to prosecution, your rights to own or manage rental properties will be in jeopardy. Even if a tenant is not physically displaced from his or her rental unit, any interference that you may commit falls under the as trespass. This includes but is not limited to removal of belongings, physical displacement, removal of utilities, change of locks and refusing to accept rent. The state of Wyoming gives landlords the power to remove tenants committing illegality upon their unit(s) (Wyo. Stat. § 33-20-202). However, if you take this power into your own hands, it can result in many inconveniences. Aggravated trespassing is a felony offense and you could very well be subjected to years of imprisonment.
Helpful Resources For Tenants And Landlords
When dealing with eviction matters, resources are available for tenants and landlords both to aid in the understanding of processes and procedures as well as provide assistance with various legal issues.
The Wyoming Department of Family Services regulates numerous programs in many capacities for Child Welfare, Adult Protection Services, Child Support, Employment Services, Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Distribution Program, conservators and guardians, child care services, and much more. Although the government agency does not directly aid in eviction matters, they do offer a wide range of community resources.
The Wyominghome.org website is another useful place to start for tenants and landlords. The website offers educational resources on financial literacy, housing, accessibility, healthy food access, and utilities assistance. In many of the departments, the resources link aids individuals and organizations in finding local resources in their area that can provide assistance in a variety of matters.
Each county in the State of Wyoming provides access to a legal aid organization, sometimes called Circuitry Courts. The website also offers information on services they can offer to help with landlord and tenant issues. Most counties have a telephone number available for tenant and landlord related issues.
Common Misconceptions about Evictions
One of the most common misconceptions I hear from both tenants and landlords alike is that a landlord has to go through the court system, including filing a lawsuit and obtaining a judgment, to have a tenant evicted. Unfortunately, this misconception has led many fearful landlords to think that their only option is to put up with a delinquent or disruptive tenant when, in fact, Wyoming landlord-tenant laws provide for a relatively quick and inexpensive process for landlords to evict most tenants. On the other side of the table, tenants often assume that just because they have filed a lawsuit against their landlord , the court will automatically forbid either the issuance or enforcement of an eviction order. This is not the case. As a landlord, you need only to establish the validity of your notice to terminate the tenancy and right to possession (e.g., past due rent, violation of a material term of the rental agreement). At that point, the burden shifts to the tenant to show good cause why the eviction should not happen. These misconceptions are just a couple of the many ways that laws are routinely misunderstood by tenants and landlords. We can help make sense of even the most complicated aspects of evictions, helping to ensure that you get the result you desire without making the situation unnecessarily more contentious.