How long does it take to evict a commercial tenant?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The law does not set a total duration and there are no official figures on evictions from commercial premises, but you should normally allow several months, depending on the court and on whether or not the tenant opposes the claim. Before the claim is filed, a month usually goes by, the time given to the tenant to pay and to reply to the proposal to negotiate. If the tenant then neither pays nor opposes the claim, the proceedings end without a hearing and the eviction takes place on the date the court set when it admitted the claim. If the tenant opposes the claim or appeals, it takes longer. It is usually quicker than evicting someone from a home, because for commercial premises there are no suspensions on grounds of vulnerability, unless someone is actually living there. The steps The formal demand for payment and the proposal to negotiate, which the law requires before suing. They can go together in a “burofax”, a certified letter with proof of content. If the tenant receives it at least thirty days before the claim and does not pay, the tenant will no longer be able to stop the eviction by paying. If the tenant does not reply to the proposal within thirty days, the claim can be filed. The claim. Once it has been admitted, the court requires the tenant within ten days to pay, leave or oppose the claim. That requirement already sets the date of the eviction itself (the “lanzamiento”), when the court bailiffs recover the premises, in case the tenant does not oppose the claim. It also sets the date of the hearing, in case the tenant does. If the tenant does not pay, leave or oppose the claim, the proceedings simply end and the eviction takes place on the date set. If the tenant opposes the claim, there is a hearing and a judgment. The eviction is set for a date within thirty days after the hearing. To appeal against the judgment, the tenant must prove that the rent that has fallen due has been paid or paid into court. What makes it longer and what makes it shorter The proceedings take longer if the tenant cannot be served and service has to be made by public notice (“edictos”), if the tenant applies for legal aid (“justicia gratuita”), if the tenant opposes the claim or appeals and depending on the court's workload. On the other hand, the brakes that apply to a principal residence, such as the suspension of evictions of vulnerable people, do not apply to commercial premises. What shortens it most is an agreement for the tenant to leave by a set date, which may come out of the prior negotiation itself. In the claim, the tenant can also be offered the waiver of part of the debt or of the costs if the tenant leaves within the period set.