Landlords need to get to grips with the process of evicting a tenant as the high confusion surrounding the PIE Act can make an already frustrating process even more expensive and onerous.

"The general impression is that the PIE ACT is weighted in favour of tenants, however, landlords should remain confident in the knowledge that they retain all rights over their property as the lawful owner", says Heather Briggs of Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys. "A landlord is simply delayed in enforcing these rights as there are a number of procedural requirements to satisfy, which can take a few months," she says.

It is important that landlords are aware they may not evict anyone from a property without an order of court therefore the procedures in PIE cannot be avoided. "The landlord may consult the Rental Housing Tribunal for assistance in the settlement of disputes, however a court order is necessary in order to evict the tenants", says Briggs.

This applies to both squatters (people who presently occupy the property without ever having had the landlord's consent) and tenants who are "holding over" (people who presently occupy the property without the landlord's consent but who previously had the landlord's consent under a lease).

"What is important to note is that a tenant who does not pay their rent does not become a squatter.” says Briggs. Once a tenant defaults on payment, the landlord is required to send them a letter requesting that they pay the amount within a certain time frame or the lease will be cancelled. If the tenant does not pay within the time limit and remains in occupation after this date, the tenant is then "holding over" and is therefore an unlawful occupier. A written lease may also contain a clause stating that if the tenant fails to pay his rent the lease will automatically be cancelled. In this case it's not necessary to write a letter cancelling the lease and the tenant is automatically regarded as "holding over" following non-payment.

Once the lease has been cancelled and the tenant remains in occupation, summons must then be served to initiate the eviction proceedings. PIE adds the requirement of giving the unlawful occupier and the municipality in which the property is located, at least 14 working days written notice of the hearing. This notice needs to be authorised by a magistrate and served by the sheriff. Therefore, the landlord has to wait at least 14 working days between serving the summons and attending a hearing at court.

If the tenant does not oppose the eviction then, provided the landlord has complied with the procedure, he will be entitled to an eviction order. If the tenant does oppose the eviction, the hearing will be further delayed to a later date where the matter will be dealt with by the court in detail. It could take a few months to get a court date because of the backlog of matters therefore this is the cause of the greatest delay.

At the hearing, the court will determine whether the plaintiff is entitled to an eviction order taking into account whether the unlawful occupier has a valid defence and the just and equitable considerations provided in PIE. "Landlords must be aware that such considerations include the rights and needs of the elderly, children, disabled persons and households headed by women," comments Briggs. PIE states that if summons is served after six months of the occupation becoming unlawful a further consideration is whether there is alternative land available.

After considering all these factors the court will decide whether the landlord is entitled to an eviction order and assign a just and equitable date on which the unlawful occupier must vacate the premises. If the unlawful occupier has still not vacated the property by this date, the sheriff is entitled to remove the occupiers from the property.

Briggs comments that a PIE Amendment Bill was drafted in 2006, which includes an amendment to the definition of an unlawful occupier to exclude tenants who are holding over from the PIE process. However this bill has not yet been passed and therefore the original Act is still the current law on evictions.