Received an Eviction Notice? Make Sure Your Landlord is on the Up & Up
May 18th, 2009 by Thursday BramReceiving an eviction notice can be a scary situation. But, no matter what the reason for the eviction is, you do have legal rights during the eviction process. It’s up to you to make sure that your landlord follows eviction proceedings correctly. There are more than a few situations when a landlord may try to take a shortcut.
Eviction Without Cause
There are specific situations in which a landlord can evict tenants. These can include situations where the tenant is at fault (non-payment of rent, misusing a rental unit and so forth), as well as a landlord wanting to live in the unit himself or remodel the property.
But there are many other reasons a landlord might seek to evict a tenant, and not all of them are legal. The allowed causes vary between counties, so you’ll need to check locally to be sure that your landlord has just cause for eviction. There are some cases when a landlord can’t legally evict a tenant (or can’t evict him fast enough) and will try to intimidate a tenant into leaving.
Removing Your Property
It used to be somewhat commonplace for a landlord to remove valuable property from a tenant’s unit with the intent to either sell that property in order to cover unpaid rent or effectively hold it for ransom until the rent is paid. Most counties and municipalities now have specific laws r
egarding when a landlord can hold property, and even what type of property a landlord can hold. In most cases, items like tools needed for your job are exempt from any type of seizure.
Just what a landlord can do with your property is generally outlined by the laws. In most states, a landlord cannot simply remove your property from a unit; instead, they are required to protect your property until you’ve a reasonable amount of time to retrieve it. If they do not do so, you may have grounds to request payment to cover damaged or lost personal property or even pursue legal action.
Following Court Procedures
In order to evict a tenant, a landlord must complete the appropriate legal proceedings. In New York, for instance, just to start eviction proceedings, a landlord must prepare a petition requesting a court hearing, serve it on the tenant and file it with the court.
From there, the landlord must essentially sue the tenant in court, providing proof of adequate cause to evict him. Even then, a landlord cannot evict a tenant by use of force or unlawful means―he must arrange for a sheriff or other officer of the law to complete eviction proceedings.
Have experience with eviction as a renter or landlord? Share your story and advice below!
Tags: Eviction
May 31st, 2009 at 12:28 am
This is what happened to me and it is horrible. I rented a nice two bedroom apt. very affordable, clean and safe. I loved it or so I thought. An older woman- 60’s- lived above me. I moved in April signed a year lease. I am a thoughtful caring person so I asked her if my television was ever disturbing her she said repeatedly No No youre as quiet as a mouse. Then my daughter moved in with the landlords permission just until she could find a new apartment. Two weeks into her living there the lady upstairs caught me in the hall and asked why my daughter was banging pots and pans and slamming cupboards and doors. I politely told her it was impossible my daughter is responsible works full-time and has no interest in making noise. She didnt seem to believe me. A week later she called on a weekend. She wanted to know why my daughter was slamming doors. I informed her that was not so. She said she knew it was. I told her my daughter had been out of town for 3 days with friends. She called me a liar. Then one night at 4am I was jolted out of my sleep with the phone ringing. I picked up to hear her screaming ” Go to bed, stop making noise. Shut up. I am notifying the landlord in the morning.” After I collected myself and my daughter had woke up- we had been in bed since 10pm- I called her back. She picked up the phone but didnt speak. I told her I was so sorry she couldnt sleep but it wasnt me! we had been sleeping. The next day the landlord called told me to be quiet. That was the beginning of hell. She would call several times a night, day, weekend. She told everyone in the building I slept all day. I am disabled but this was not true. Finally my landlord said my daughter had to leave. “Perhaps she will feel better after the holidays, this will all blow over then” my landlord incorrectly predicted. My daughter left on the day before Christmas Eve. This woman called me on Xmas saying what kind of machine was I running that made all the noise. At this point I had given up. She called constantly still leaving messages, my machines were too loud, my radio was loud- I dont even own a stereo- I was slamming doors and the one I loved the most, I was typing too loud on my computer. Finally, I felt like I was having a nervous breakdown. I started crying on the phone with my landlord who was in Florida, he screamed at me that he was tired of her phone calls, sick of the situation told me never to call him again about anything. After this one night about 2am. I woke up to her banging some object on her floor, my ceiling, screaming ” GO TO BED SHUT UP STOP MAKING NOISE” after about the sixth time. I had it. I called 911. The police got here tried to talk to her but all she did was run her stupid mouth, the first thing was ” She sleeps all day, and parties all night, I have to work for a living.” that was at the heart of it I believe she had a job she hated.Over the next 3 months she would talk about me outside of my door in the building calling me a dummy, a whore, a liar and evil. Then one Sunday my landlord came over to tell me she had complained many more times that I was slamming my windows, he asked me if I could get on her schedule, asking me to limit my computer use to the day after which I told him absolutely not. The next day I got an eviction notice, my rent was paid and up to date. Since I am on a month to month tenancy he is within his legal rights. I am devastated. I have to move in 4 weeks. He said he based his decision on the fact that she has lived here longer than me. I cannot believe that this injustice can occur in America. I plan on suing that witch when I move out for moving exspenses, pain and suffering and the difference in the amount of rent I will be paying- 40 dollars more a month. So if that isnt a eviction story I dont know what is. I would never believe it if I had not lived it.
May 31st, 2009 at 2:19 am
I was evicted from Arcadia Gardens in Feb, 2008 during the last month before I left, the reason I was unable to pay that mo. rent is the maintenance man stole it from my apt. I caught him looking through the bedroom window, watching we’re I stashed it! I know, I should have suspected something, but I thought no, that guy says he’s a “Rev. Star” would Never give a person his real name, I should have taken it with me. I went to visit friend for 1 hour, came back to get $$ and pay rent, and it was gone, ALL OF IT!!! I know he did this to me on purpose, because it was only 3 days later, when the landlords turned off the electricity, it was a VERY COLD FEB of 2008. No food, now, as both the frig and freezer are plugged in! It was an absolute nightmare! I know the elec bill was paid up, as I had just received the bill, it was prepaid for the next 2 months, either for there or the next place, it was paid. That was just not right. Then they included on the eviction my boyfriend, who had left in Dec. 2007 turning in his key on his was to the HWY and Las Vegas, + WORK! I’m in my late 50’s on Disability SS Income and had a perfectly spotless record in every respect, now have the blemish of an eviction, was does not tell a true story of my long and wonderful rental history. The longest I rented was at 720 N. Palo Verde Blvd and I lived there for 12 years! The same # of years my guy and I have been together!! I want to at least get his name removed, I told the Landlords and the Judge that Todd wasn’t here and his name should not be on it, but they refused to listen. Is there a chance we can get his name removed and if so what should I DO??? Many thanks for taking the time to listen. Best Wishes and Happy Landings, RSBarclay in Tucson, AZ
June 1st, 2009 at 12:18 am
I just got done asking for a trial by jury for my eviction for none payment of rent. Although the apartments were allowed to postpone the case on the day of the trial and the judge told me that the only reason not to pay my rent would be because of repairs not being done, on the day the trial was reset the judge denied me the right to trial by jury, because I had not paid my rent. I had plenty of proof that the repairs were not done and I did come to an agreement with the apartments that allowed me to move out in one week, and not hold anything against me. However, I feel this was unfair as the apartments are not in good standing with the state of Texas comptrollers office nor with the Harris County Tax Assesors Office. Just beware in the state of Texas renting you a tent that is covered with mold and has no running water must be legal.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Well Patricia Kohler….A trial by jury? Are you joking? Do you really think the taxpayer’s should pay because you don’t pay your rent on time? The apartments are not in good standing with the state comptrollers nor with tax assessors? Move on …. I think your the scam here. You took the time to check on their “standings” but never mentioned just how serious your issues with them were. I’d guess they were pretty minor, or you would have shouted it on the roof tops. Why did you rent a tent? Mold….is easily cleanable. Ever heard of Clorox? No running water? Anywhere? You must STINK.
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Patricia, to legally not pay your rent to the landlord it has to be in escrow. Did you try to find out how to do that before you did not pay your rent?
June 7th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
I was evicted last week and was only given 7 days. I had lived in my apartment community in Georgia for 3 years. I have never made a late payment, never had a problem with my neighbors that I was aware of. The problem is that I have a teenage son and he has friends that stand in front of the building. I told the kids to move on, because management sent notices to all residents stating that there is to be no loitering. Well, that was about a month ago. Things had been going pretty good, but I was informed that there had been too much noise coming from my apartment. I work at night and there is a possibility that my son had his friends inside, which I do not allow when I’m away….even though he’s a teenager, which means they probably did come in my home being loud. I asked management if I could have the opportunity to correct the problem and was told no. I even said that I would send my son to live with his father and they said no. So I moved in 3 days, because I received the notice over the weekend and there was no one to talk to. That only gave me five business days and I had to work on 2 of those days. I was really upset, because I can not control the loitering of other kids, but no one ever made me aware that any noise was coming from my apartment….which I definitely would have dealt with. I asked for more time and was not given any time. I drove by my building just yesterday to go to a friend apartment and the kids were still there and my son isn’t even there anymore. So what do they plan to do now? Make a list and evict everyone who had a kids standing around. They need a place for teenage kids to hangout. They can’t stay inside all day long, even though I don’t feel that they shouldn’t hangout after dark even though they do.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:54 am
Terri, it is the person living above you who should be evicted, not you.
Amazingly enough, I actually had a similar situation with someone living above me in my apartment (also a month to month lease) and she too was being incredibly bothered by things that weren’t loud at all. Like me typing on the computer, too…also whenever I talked on the phone or worked in the kitchen/ate dinner/cleaned up afterwards, opened and closed cabinets and cupboards and drawers, etc. Except that she never complained verbally to me or the landlord; she simply tried to “get back at me” directly by banging and stomping on the floor (my ceiling) as well as squeaking the floor deliberately all the time, day after day after day with no letup. It was driving me crazy.
I ultimately did get her evicted by keeping a log of her stomps, which management was able to act on. (She actually didn’t deny any of it, which made it easier. If she had, it would have been nothing but my word against hers, and if that had happened, I was ready with DIGITAL RECORDINGS of her stomping that I had made. Thankfully, it didn’t have to go that far.)
But my point is this: Right now, it is nothing but her word against yours in this fight. SHE HAS NO PROOF. NO PROOF at all that you’re making any noise. In fact, and I say it again, it she SHE who should be evicted here. Calling you repeatedly at 4 in the morning? Calling you multiple times a day to verbally abuse you for no reason? That’s as bad as the constant stomping I went through. No wonder we both eventually felt like we were going crazy.
You said you wouldn’t have believed it if you hadn’t lived through it…well, same goes for my situation. The problem with trying to deal with these mentally ill tenants who hear noises that aren’t there and then go crazy over them is just that…the fact that somebody really would be going that nuts over noises that simply aren’t there is SIMPLY TOO HARD TO BELIEVE. So the landlord just assumes that you must be making noise, too.
But just like the woman who lived above me, your insane neighbor also needs to go before she continues on her rampage. (After all, if you move out, what’s to stop her from doing the same to the next tenant who moves into your apartment? And isn’t it possible that she’s already done this exact same thing to many many tenants who lived in your apartment before you did? You did say the landlord said she had been there a long time.)
Stand tall, Terri. Don’t move out. At the end of your eviction notice period, if you still haven’t moved out, then the landlord will have to take you to court. Do it. From what I read of your story, there is absolutely NO PROOF that you have been making any noise. Just the insane complaints of an extremely insane woman. Just like I would have needed my digital recorder to get rid of the person above me if she had denied she was stomping on and squeaking the floor, your landlord will need some kind of concrete proof that you were making noise for him to successfully evict you. Since he can’t possibly have that since you haven’t been making any noise, the court will rule in your favor, and you won’t have to move out of your apartment.
But you will still be living in hell. Just like I was. So go after her with concrete proof. From what I read, it seems like the biggest kinds of abuse were her yelling at you and her constant phone calls. So CALL THE PHONE COMPANY. Get a list of all calls received to your phone (or all calls placed by the woman upstairs, however they do it) for the last month, and submit that to the landlord so you can PROVE–unlike her–that you ARE actually being abused.
Second, talk to your and her other neighbors. One of them must have heard her verbally abusing you, especially WHEN SHE STOOD IN THE HALLWAY RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR. With extra witnesses, it will no longer be just your word against hers.
Finally, GET A DIGITAL RECORDER LIKE I DID. Record her screaming at you. Record her calling you those names. Record her banging on the floor.
Do it, Terri. Far from moving out yourself, turn it around 180 degrees and get HER evicted. You are not being a bad tenant, you are a VICTIM. YOU are the one being abused.
You can do this. Just follow my two steps - (1) successfully challenge your eviction, and then (2) get her evicted using CONCRETE PROOF of your abuse. And use the word, “abuse.” I used it repeatedly in e-mails to my landlord when I was trying to get my upstairs neighbor evicted. It works.
You really can do this. It doesn’t matter if your landlord is sick of the problem–do you think mine wasn’t?–or if your landlord doesn’t like you very much right now: Eviction simply because a landlord does not like a tenant is ILLEGAL. They have no case against you.
If you really love your apartment like you say you do, challenge your eviction. And then move to get rid of her. You can do it. All you need is some proof, and the phone records, digital recordings, and testimony from third-party neighbors will be more than enough.
Again, it does not matter if your landlord is sick of you right now. They have to act in accordance with the LAW. And that means repealing your eviction notice–or taking it to court but LOSING, and then serving one on her in the face of the EVIDENCE you are going to provide.
You can do this. Hang in there. I never thought I’d read about someone who went through something so eerily similar to what I did. But I did. And so I decided to offer my support. You are not alone, apparently. These things do happen. And they can be resolved.
Simply put, your nut-job neighbor has GOT TO GO. Hang in there.
Andy
June 12th, 2009 at 8:08 am
can I have my parents retrieve my personal belongings ie: clothes,legal documents. on my behalf due to me being incarserated. and just finding out my soon to be ex wife has been served an eviction notice for non payment of rent? help!!! need answers soon!!!!
June 12th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Hey Terri, I may have been mistaken when I said they can’t evict you without cause. With a month to month lease, it may very well be true that your landlord can do this to you, on the basis that landlords ARE allowed to tell tenants that they have to leave for no reason as long as they do it at the end of a lease period.
Look into it, if you haven’t already, and make sure you know exactly what all your options are. But you have my sympathies, and if you DO have to leave, then I wish you the best of luck with getting compensation through that lawsuit that you had planned.
June 14th, 2009 at 1:57 am
I have a question for you all…
Ok long story short…..
My Fiance’s Brother in law signed the lease and my Fiance was living in the home, my finace had to leave the country on emergency, and asked me to move into his place, so I did….
My Fiance was not on the lease and never was the whole time he lived there but they did not know he was the one living there, well his brother in law decided since I was living there he wanted me to be added on the lease, and I told him my credit was not all that good but he said there would be no worries cause I am just an add on, however they are way strict here…
they require wether you are an add on, a co signer or a main signer to make 3 times the rent amount, and have passing credit.
It denied my credit, so my mom cosigned, but 3 times the rent amount is 24,000 a year and my mom only makes 21,000 so they denied her too. my mom had her friend write a written letter saying she does cleaning for him too which she does, and they would not accept that, cause they say they dont accept under the table work, and they need a 1099 form or tax return for all employment to prove it.
My Fiance’s Brother in law even called and said that I dont pay any rent that he pays it all, and they said they did not care.. which does not make sence, he makes a lot of money, and his credit is passing, they should not care what the co applicant has as long as the main applicant passed everything..
going forward..
they told me I am in briech of contract even living here because I am not on the lease.
they say I have to figure something out by monday or they will serve a 3 day vacate notice.
what my question is, I have two toddlers, and there is no way I can get out that fast.
do they have the right to make me leave that fast even if I am not on the lease? dont they have to give at least 30 days? I also already paid the rent this month..
June 18th, 2009 at 7:08 am
Andy, I am a landlord, and I agree with your post- but, at least in my state- on a month to month lease a landlord can get a tenant out with 30 day notice- no cause or explanation is required.
From a landlords point of view- we hate the noise complaints of one tenant complaining about the other…. we should not have to police adults. I tell my tenants if the noise is serious enough, make a police report for noise violation. If the person complaining is being nitpicky, the police can get on that person for attempting to make a false report.
If I get 3 valid police reports for noise on a tenant, that tenant is gone.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
I received an eviction notice from my landlord because I went on the 4th of the month to pay the rent. After the 3rd, the rent is considered overdue. I had been in the hospital for a week at that point and asked them to waive the extra fee in light of my sickness and since I had never before (for 2 years) been late in paying rent.
The apartment manager refused to do so. Even their district manager refused and alleged that I was paying late on purpose - at this point, I was clueless as to why I wanted to be in pain and pay a fine. Further, she decided to serve me an eviction notice even though I agreed to pay the extra fee (heck, the rent was $1500) and told me I needed to leave the apartment on the date listed in the eviction letter.
My question is: can I file suit against them stating that they discriminated against me? Here are my reasons for the law suit:
i) I have seen other people pay late fees and not get eviction notices
ii) I have seen other people being exempted for late fees for first occurrence of late payment
iii) The district manager has in the past told me - to paraphrase - “you people are the issue”
iv) They asked me to leave the apartment and provided false information to harass me regarding eviction.
If anyone knows of any precedence or specific clauses of the “Fair Housing Act” that could be used here, it would be very helpful.
June 19th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Wongful Eviction……..what sate do you live in? Is your property management company a member of the apartment association? I need this information to be helpful with answers! Help me help you!
June 20th, 2009 at 1:41 am
give your parents a signed letter giving them permission to get your belongings. Have them give copy to landlord. Another to your soon to be ex. If they have any problems have them get the police to intervene. Your possessions cannot be held hostage or considered abandoned because of the letter. By the way parents keep original safe in case needed legally.
June 20th, 2009 at 1:54 am
You didnt say how long you have been there. A tenant can have a guest for a period of 6 weeks. Landlord can do nothing in that 6 week period. 3 days eviction? I know states have different time allotment for eviction but 3 days sounds like its an illegal push by landlord. Check out with your renters assoc.
June 20th, 2009 at 2:14 am
wrongful eviction
what do they mean by “you people are the issue”? Have you been in their complaint file for any problems? I am a landlord and a problem tenant is one who gets evicted once they make a major mistake. Sounds like they were waiting for this opportunity.
Ques…..Did you make the payment and late fee and are you under a lease agreement that they may be breaking? If you paid you have the right to stay till the date you are paid up to.
Try putting your state and renters rights in a search and you should get laws pertaining to you on what rights you should have.
June 21st, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I am not sure what to do. i work as a leasing agent for company in Florida that has filed for and eviction against me. I live on the property that i work at. I notified may property Manager that my rent check may get returned because geico took 6 months of payments from my bank account in error and this will cause my rent check to be returned. i Told my manager that i will pay my rent out of my next check if geico did not return the money by then. At no time did anyone tell me that this would not be okay. yesterday i received a notice on my door from the sheriff’s office the papers that they have filed for eviction and i need to move or respond in 5 days. i never received the 3 day notice as required however, there is one with the eviction notice.
according to my knowledge the 3 day notice cannot include late fees my rent is $800 the notice is for $880 this include the 10% late fee. the other thing is that the notice states the day it was delivered on the line where that is to be provided but on the line that requires the time of day nothing is written. the 3rd things is that my understanding is that the 3day notice must be hand delivered and if no one is present you my post it on the door. the assistant Manager was the person that claimed to deliver the 3 day notice and she check the left on door option. we both were at work on june 11th which is the date on the notice. My office is right next to hers so close that we can talk thru the walls. i was available for her to hand deliver the notice.
Keep in mind that the assistant was aware of the issue as well and at no time did she or my property manager come to me and say that there was any kind of issue. at no time did they even come to me and tell me that they were going to do this. there was never a notice placed on my door. and i find it suspicious that someone would claim to put it on my door when they could have just handed it to me at work. not to mention that i would never do this to a fellow coworker under these circumstances. to me it is not ethical and not humane. i am a single mother of 3 and i was #2 in the state of florida for leasing within the company and never had any problems as an employee. is there anyone out there that an advise me on this as i dont think i can afford a lawyer. thanks
June 23rd, 2009 at 12:34 am
We are late on the rent. Received a letter stating that papers were filed, and now we owe court costs, in addition to late fees. No papers served, no notice, etc. 15% late fees + $103-206 court costs.
Room mate lost job. They say we owe “Concessions” for all of the rental period, even though only 4 months are left on the lease. This cost is $1,500.
So, now we owe $2,400. Can we get a sub-leaser? Do we have to pay “Court Costs” If we can’t pay rent, how can we pay all of the rest? Can we move out before we owe more?
July 8th, 2009 at 12:09 am
My disable checks did not show up one month, he verbally agreed to give me time, I tried arranging a payment with him he rejected it, but agreed he would give me time, but then still filed a petition( posted it on my door a week after i payed all the rent off July 1th he filed it on the june24th), I even followed threw on are agreement and now fully paid up to date July 1st(paid all fees too) yet still going to court late rent eviction I go to court on 16th he cased my clearance to get a job to be rejected.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Wow…I am so sad to read these stories, and I am sure there are so many more which go untold everyday. I was evicted for nonpayment of rent for the very first time in my 16 years of rent-on-time, in 2006. I became ill and lost everything (well, almost), including the apartment. Help came in the form of friends and the kindness of strangers. What I noticed about my situation, that was unfortunate, was that because my apartments were managed by a big-time out-of-state management company, they (the ladies in the office) were unable to help me much. They were kind and did what they could, but I knew they ultimately had to do their job. (I did keep them informed of my circumstances during the entire time I was ill). I did have to appear in court, three days after I got out of the hospital. I did have to move, ten days after I got out of the hospital. It was only by Grace that I got through this, because I had help from other caring humans. Afterwards, I received a notice in the mail from that apartment complex, stating I owed their management company approx. $1000 above and beyond the court judgement. The stated reason for the extra charges was pathetic… a list frivolous cleaning, repair costs, etc…. I knew I left the apartment very clean and had damaged nothing. The only thing I did have was a light stain on the carpet from a juice spill, which I had difficulty cleaning (cream berber carpet), I left a couple of small nails in the wall due to time constraints, and I left ONE trashbag (of non-food items) outside, next to the front door, on the day I turned in my keys. I simply forgot to take it to the trash bin downstairs a few steps away because I was ill, and mentally and physically exhausted. Later, I remembered a clause in the lease which stated that the apartment would automatically be recarpeted after my tenancy; hence the high security deposit, which would only be partially refunded. This way, each tenant moved in a newly carpeted apartment. No problem for me at the signing of the lease. (Of course I did not get it back, nor did I expect to). I expected to be required to pay the apartment management company what the judge ordered me to pay…basically three months worth of remaining rent including late charges. The extra $1000 dollars on top of the judgement is simply misuse and abuse of what they think they had power over, which is ME…and at that time, an ill and financially destitute version of ME. I have not paid them anything. Simply because I have not been able to. My advice to anyone regarding anything landlord–tenant is to get informed. There are many resources out there…online, books, local associations, other tenants, free legal advice, etc…. DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE BULLIED or frightened BY ANYONE, especially if it doesn’t “feel” right. Help yourself by getting yourself educated and thus you will feel more empowered and much less stressed. There are too many people in this country (of all countries) who take advantage of those less fortunate!! DO NOT BE A VICTIM!!! If you think like one, you will be one. Instead, empower yourself with common sense, get proof (in writing and /or otherwise), read the fine print, and always ask MANY MANY questions, including WHY. Those who choose not to know/learn, won’t! And ALWAYS REMEMBER, “This, too shall pass.” And it does. Bless you all.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:46 am
I am being evicted not for non payment of rent (never a day late.) I am being evicted because I have black mold in my cellar and it floods when it rains. I repeatdly asked my landlord to take care of this as black mold is deadly,she had a kid in the neighborhood paint over it. I told her not good enough that’s when she served me with an eviction notice. I did call codes and this is all documented. Can she get away with this?
September 6th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
i paid julys rent landlord gave me a three day and on the three day said julys rent had not been paid i have check to prove it !! in the meantime sheriff gave me a notice i responed in the five days allowed now what do i do