How to make a Notice to Vacate good evidence for an Eviction

As you think about it in terms of it becoming an important piece of evidence in a future eviction trial, you want to be able to say unequivocally, “This is the note that I sent, and this is the manner in which I sent it.” To be able to do that, your Notice to Vacate should have some important information on it.

First of all, it should have a clearly identifiable date. Your Notice to Vacate should demonstrate everybody in the world, when they read it, on what date the Notice was mailed. That helps us in starting the count, for which point you can file your lawsuit. Without a good date, it’s kind of in troubled waters there.

And it doesn’t make sense, but I see it happen all the time: somebody will claim to have mailed a Notice to Vacate on September 1st, but the date on the Notice itself is September 5th. One may think, “Well, that’s just a little error.” Unfortunately, it’s the kind of error that can wreck your case.

Your Evidence (in this case, the Notice to Vacate) should match the facts of your case. So, make sure that you treat every Notice to Vacate like it’s going to be an exhibit in some future eviction trial.

Your Notice to Vacate should feature the tracking number for confirmation of what you mailed. It’s important that the tracking number exists on the letter itself. It’s good that it’s on the envelope. But when it’s on the letter itself, if you don’t have the envelope with you, or you didn’t make a copy of it, it’s hard to connect the tracking number that may be on your receipt with the letter itself.

It helps particularly if the Tenant argues and says, “I never got that,” or “No, I got this other letter through that tracking number, and it’s just a Notice of default, or a Notice of unpaid rent, not a Notice to Vacate.”

Believe it or not, Tenants sometimes misrepresent the facts. If the letter itself shows the tracking number, and your receipt shows a tracking number, it’s only further proof of the accuracy of your testimony.

Keep that paper receipt. When you go to the post office, you get a receipt, and if you crumble it up and toss it away, you are potentially throwing away a valuable piece of evidence proving your case.

Always mail 2 copies: one Regular mail, one Certified mail. Make sure that you keep the receipt that shows that in fact you paid for postage for one regular and one certified letter. If you treat your Notice to Vacate as an important exhibit that will at some point be used at trial, you’ll find more success at trial when you do have to use these documents. 

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