What should a landlord do upon receiving a notice?
Property owners who receive a notice from the DEA or DOJ have not been charged with a crime. Nevertheless, the landlord may wish to consult with his or her attorney or an asset forfeiture specialist about a landlord’s rights and responsibilities under the law. Lawyers will likely advise you not to make any statement to the DEA indicating knowledge of or agreement with a tenant engaged in illegal activity. Doing so may mean giving up important rights in the unlikely event of later charges. There is no need to act immediately if one receives a notice, and there may never be a need to act at all. Any legal action that might be initiated would take months to unfold, so a landlord should take time to consider the issue, talk with the tenant, before making up her or his mind. Always remember that the DEA and DOJ are trying to intimidate and manipulate landlords into evicting these tenants as soon as possible. Landlords do not have to succumb to this pressure without undue consideration of th
