what are my rights upon eviction from an apartment?

Question

can the landlord keep my stuff? i thought i had until aug 30th to get out but while i was on vacation, the landlords removed EVERYTHING! they say they dont know where it got taken. bullshit! i had baby stuff and everything in there. thank you!

Answer 1

Here's a site where you can go for the laws in your... State... sometimes landlords do not share these laws with the tenants and more or less your left in the dark about your rights.
Every state is different in the ways they make them laws up. There's two sates in the USA that has to this day to pass laws to protect the tenants. http://www.uslandlord.com/ just go to Laws & Statutes and then pick the state you live in theres you laws up-dated at the time you go on this site.

This way its good to know you right unless, some people end up with a bad landlord because... there bluff works most of the time because of lack of knowledge of your rights.
After you have looked at your rights and theirs.
Then you know where you can go as far as taking up for yourself.
If your civil rights has been broking you can call your local...Legal Aid and they will give you the number of a Pro-Bone-O Lawyer the help you in any problems you endure.*
http://www.lawyers.com/ is a site where you can talk to a chat with an attorney live also on there site... you can get a lawyer in your home town if you wish to go that way.

Source(s):

Studied tenant laws
http://www.uslandlord.com/
http://www.lawyers.com/

Answer 2

Okay first question would be, why were you evicted? Was it due to none payment of rent? If so, how come you can't pay your rent but you can go on vacation? Did you get served with an eviction notice and have a court date prior to going on vacation? If so then you only had 10 days from the date of court to get out before a writ was filed in which the sheriff comes and throws you on the street. At that point in time you have to make arrangements with the landlord to get the rest of your stuff. Legally, the landlord is to hold your belongings for 10 days (check with your local laws though) before they can trash it or what have you. The landlord is lying when they say they don't know where it was taken though. It will all depend on whether or not it was past the point in which they were legally bound to hold it. If it was, consider it gone

Answer 3

The landlord has no right to get evicted the apartment before the 30th of the month. If the court has ordered the eviction, then the eviction shall take place in the presence of court beliff. The beliff shall ensure that no force is used in eviction. The eviction takes place in the peaceful manner without harming the person and property of the person. It is illegal that you had been evicted when you were on vactions. You can lodge an FIR against the landlord showing your apprehesion that you had been evicted by the landlord and your belongings have been taken over by him. But make sure that your belongings have been taken away by the landlord.

Answer 4

In Texas, it is simple. There are 2 separate landlord eviction rights
1.hotel/motel law, where you can be evicted on the spot no questions asked. The law in Texas states, a landlord falls into that area IF landlord provides : bed sheets and towels.
2.all the rest, and the law there states it pretty simple the only one who can force you out is a Texas or Federal Judge.
Simple do you have a piece of paper signed by a Judge with a date to leave if so you and yours must leave by then.
Otherwise, you as a citizen must file a police theft report. Did you "SEE" the landlord put it out NO so don't make accusations
let the police do their job, BUT REPORT IT NOW!

Answer 5

What state do you live in? Did you have a lease? If you were given an eviction notice you have 30 days from the notice to vacate the premises, unless the lease or the eviction notice said differently.

If the landlords are in fact in the wrong and you had until the 30th- simply call the police and report everything stolen. I bet your stuff will reappear quickly. But before you do that- MAKE SURE you are right. You can call your state HUD office- they will be able to help you know your rights.

Answer 6

It depends where you live.

If you have a court order that says your removal is not until the 30th, you can sue for the cost of replacement of everything you lost plus damages. You will most likely be countersued for the unpaid rent and costs involved in your eviction.

Here your landlord would also be arrested.

In some states, the landlord must store the items and notify the tenant of where the items are located.

What date did the court order or removal warrant say you had to be out by?

Answer 7

It all probably depends on what type of "quit or pay" notice you were given. I think that most places will give you a "courtesy" notice of 30 days, however, if they REALLY wanted you out, they could have issued a 3 or 10 day notice, and if you were gone during the time you were supposed to vacate, they probably had the legal right to enter the premises and remove all the belongings, because they could claim it was "abandoned" while you were on vacation.

As to what they did with your personal possessions, you will probably have to contact the property owners and find out who moved your things, and then contact them. Chances are, they may have taken everything to an auction or clearing house to help off-set the back rent.

That's what happens in CA, but your personal situation and legal rights may be different where you are. Good luck.

Answer 8

I certainly feel your pain. It's obvious that it's not yet August 30th, if that is the date your landlord gave you to move, then that is what is required, as he/she is the one who set those terms. Check with the laws in your state (just do a search for your states statutes or consult a lawyer).
You can always try to sue your landlord in Civil court for the return of your property or the value of it, but unfortunately, the difficult part will be proving that he/she is the person who actually took it out of the property.
They do have the right to keep your belongings IF you did not move out on time. However, if there is money owed (due to eviction), they do have the right to keep your belongings as their means of recouping their loss.
It's always best to seek professional legal advice in these situations, just because the laws are different in each state.
Good luck!!

Answer 9

Depending upon what city you live in, you can look up on line tenant's rights. The landlord should not have even gone in your house without your consent. You can sue probably at least then maybe you can get back some of your stuff. I would have made a police report, the police could have told you then and there what your rights were. But the longer you wait, the sooner all your stuff is gone. It's prob. at one of his relatives houses or friends. But if the police are on his tail, he'll come up with your stuff really quick!

Answer 10

Consult a Real Estate Attorney. If you don't have money check out the yellow pages for the ones that offer, " FREE CONSULTATION". or call Legal Aid and they'll refer one to you.

Did you ignore the notice to appear in Court?

Usually the Judge would grant some time according to your circumstances that prevented you from paying where you were staying, giving you time to get the money to pay....but if you didn't go to court to plead your cause the property management would plead their case so the Judge awarded them, IF THE EVICTION WAS COURT ORDERED, and while you were having fun on vacation the SHERIFF came and OBSERVED THE EMPTYING of the apartment...usually the items are set outside on the curb off the property near the street and whoever passes by takes them if you weren't there to look out for and protect YOUR VALUABLES.

SO NOW WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR RIGHTS ARE?

AS I WAS SAYING SEEK THE ADVICE OF A REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY. NEXT TIME HANDLE YOUR BUSINESS PRIOR TO VACATIONING AND YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT RETURNING TO DISASTER, like additionally having a Judgement added onto your CREDIT FILE.

Check your credit report. The amount you owed in back rent is probably charged to you plus court cost..