Eviction navigation — what Seayora does, and the four things it will never do
Seayora navigates an eviction: the steps your state and city require, in order, each with the statute behind it, the deadline it sets and a link to the real court. It does not file, serve, evict, or give legal advice — here is exactly where that line sits and why it is drawn there.
When rent has failed and every attempt to collect it has failed with it, a landlord faces a process that is different in every state, different again in several cities, and unforgiving about order and timing. Most cases that fail do not fail on the merits. They fail because a notice was served a day early, because the wrong form was used, because the notice demanded more than rent, or because nobody realized the city required a mediation attempt before a complaint could be filed.
Seayora’s eviction navigator is a map of that process for the specific apartment in front of you, with the statute printed beside every step, the deadline each one sets, and a link to the court that actually hears the case. It keeps the record as you go, so what happened and when is answerable a year later.
The line, stated plainly
Four things are permanently outside this product, and they are not features waiting to be built:
- Seayora does not file anything with any court. There is no e-filing integration, there will not be one, and the build fails if one is ever added.
- Seayora does not serve papers. Service is done by a person or a process server, by a method your state permits, and you record that it happened.
- Seayora does not evict anyone. Only a court can order possession and only a sheriff, marshal or constable can execute it.
- Seayora is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Seayora is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Every step, deadline and citation here is a starting point drawn from the statute named beside it; courts, local rules and the facts of a tenancy change what actually applies. Have a lawyer review anything you are about to file.
The reason for the first line is not caution. Filing a case for somebody else is the unauthorized practice of law in most states when a company does it, and an e-filing integration would make Seayora a party to the way somebody’s housing case was conducted. Every verb on every screen says “record”, never “file”.
What it actually gives you
| What you get | |
|---|---|
| A map | The ordered steps this state and this city require, with the statute for each one and whether it blocks the steps after it. |
| Real deadlines | A due date only where a statute sets one, cascading from the step above it. Business days are counted as business days. |
| A pre-flight check | Everything that would sink the case, found before you spend a filing fee rather than in a courtroom. |
| The court | Its name, its website, its forms, its filing fee, and the legal-aid service in that jurisdiction. |
| A record | Append-only: every step, every note, every cost, and the messages you chose to attach, frozen as they read at the time. |
| The other side told | The resident sees the case, what stage it is at, and — first on the page — what would end it. |
Where it starts
From a tenancy that has fallen behind. Open Rent, find the charge, and check what an eviction there would actually involve. Nothing is created by looking: the assessment is a read, and opening a case afterwards is a deliberate act that records your name and the date against an acknowledgment of everything above.
Self-help is not an option, anywhere
Do not change the locks, remove the tenant’s belongings, shut off a utility, remove a door or a window, or threaten any of those things. Self-help eviction is unlawful in every state. It converts a case you would probably win into one you will certainly lose, and it exposes you to damages, penalties and in several states criminal liability — often several times the rent you are owed. A tenant may only be removed by a sheriff, marshal, constable or court officer executing a court order. Seayora will not help with anything else and does not record it.
Every jurisdiction Seayora publishes carries its own penalty for this, and they are severe — in several states a lockout costs the landlord multiple months of rent in statutory damages plus the tenant’s legal fees, which is far more than the arrears being chased. The penalty for the state in front of you is printed on the case.
Retaliation
Most states bar an eviction brought in retaliation for a repair request, a code complaint, joining a tenants’ organization or exercising a legal right, and several presume retaliation where the case follows one within a set period. Where Seayora can see a recent repair request or complaint on this tenancy, it says so — not to stop you, but because the tenant’s lawyer will raise it and you should have an answer.
Frequently asked questions
Does Seayora file the eviction for me?
No. Seayora files nothing with any court and has no e-filing integration. It shows you what your state and city require, in order, with the statute and the deadline for each step, links you to the court that hears the case, and records what you did. Filing is done by you or by your attorney.
Can Seayora serve the notice or the summons?
No. Service is done by a person, by a method your state permits — and the permitted methods are listed on the case for the jurisdiction you are in. Seayora records that service happened, when, and how, so the record is answerable later.
Is this legal advice?
No. Seayora is not a law firm. Everything published is read from a statute and cited so you can check it, and the product tells you when it holds no verified rule for a jurisdiction rather than guessing. An eviction is a court proceeding and most landlords should take advice on one.
Can I change the locks if the tenant has stopped paying?
No — not in any state Seayora covers, and effectively not anywhere in the United States. Changing the locks, removing belongings, shutting off a utility or removing a door is an illegal lockout, and every jurisdiction attaches a penalty to it that is usually far larger than the rent being chased. The specific penalty for your state is printed on the case.
What happens if the tenant pays after the case has started?
The case closes itself. Seayora recomputes the arrears on every read, and a case whose balance has gone is closed automatically from whatever stage it had reached. In most states paying is a statutory right that ends a nonpayment case, and it is not the landlord’s to decline — so it is not something the product asks you to confirm.
Does the tenant know a case has been opened?
Yes. The resident is emailed and alerted when a case is opened, and they can see it in their own account — the stage it is at, the amount outstanding, any hearing date, and, first on the page, what would end it, including free legal help where it is available. That is also what most states expect of a landlord, and a case the other side never saw is the one most likely to be reopened.
Related guides
- Before you file: the checks Seayora runs, and why some of them are our fault
- How the steps and deadlines work — and why some steps deliberately have no date
- An eviction case has been opened on my tenancy — what Seayora shows me
Related features and guides
- Before you file: the checks Seayora runs, and why some of them are our fault — Documentation. Seayora refuses to open an eviction case while something would sink it — an unanswered payment plan, money still settling, a grace period that has not run, open repairs, a subsidized tenancy. Several of the blockers are Seayora’s own problem rather than the resident’s, and each is cheaper to find here than in a courtroom.
- How the steps and deadlines work — and why some steps deliberately have no date — Documentation. Every step on a Seayora eviction case carries the statute behind it, whether it blocks the steps after it, and where its deadline comes from — statutory, set by the court, set by your lease, or an estimate. A step Seayora has not verified gets no due date at all, on purpose.
- An eviction case has been opened on my tenancy — what Seayora shows me — Documentation. If your landlord opens an eviction case on Seayora you are told, and you can see it: the stage it has reached, what is outstanding, any hearing date, and — first on the page — what would end it, including free legal help where it is available.
- Compliance Alerts & Required Filings — Feature. Seayora watches your properties for new violations and works out which recurring filings each building owes, turns both into a dated checklist, and emails you when something new appears. Live violation data for New York City; rule-based filing obligations across the NYC metro.
- AI-Assisted Maintenance Dispatch — Feature. AI-assisted dispatch routing and configurable automation rules send maintenance work to the right service pro, so routine repairs never wait on a manual decision.
- Employee Tasks & Check-Ins — Feature. Assign tasks to staff, track completion, and require check-ins at site visits so field work is accountable rather than assumed.