Unless otherwise agreed in a written rental agreement, an action for summary possession may be maintained under this chapter because:

(1) The tenant unlawfully continues in possession of any part of the premises after the expiration of the rental agreement without the permission of the landlord or, where a new tenant is entitled to possession, without the permission of the new tenant;

(2) The tenant has wrongfully failed to pay the agreed rent;

(3) The tenant has wrongfully deducted money from the agreed rent;

(4) The tenant has breached a lawful obligation relating to the tenant’s use of the premises;

(5) The tenant, employee, servant or agent of the landlord holds over for more than 15 days after dismissal when the housing is supplied by the landlord as part of the compensation for labor or services;

(6) The tenant holds over for more than 5 days after the property has been duly sold upon the foreclosure of a mortgage and the title has been duly perfected;

(7) The rightful tenant of the rental unit has been wrongfully ousted;

(8) The tenant refuses to yield possession of the rental unit rendered partially or wholly unusable by fire or casualty, and the landlord requires possession for the purpose of effecting repairs of the damage;

(9) The tenant is convicted of a class A misdemeanor or any felony during the term of tenancy which caused or threatened to cause irreparable harm to any person or property;

(10) A rental agreement for a commercial rental unit provides grounds for an action for summary possession to be maintained;

(11) Or, if, and only if, it pertains to manufactured home lots, for any of the grounds set forth in the Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act, as amended; or

(12) The tenant who is the sole tenant under the rental agreement has died and become the deceased sole tenant under the residential rental agreement.

70 Del. Laws, c. 513, § ?4; 74 Del. Laws, c. 35, § ?3; 79 Del. Laws, c. 65, § ?3;

Attorney's Note

Under the Delaware Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class A misdemeanorup to 1 yearup to $2,300
For details, see Del. Code Ann.tit. 11, § 4206

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Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 25 Sec. 5702

  • Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. Source:
  • Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. Source: OCC
  • Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.