I moved out in Aug. My ex-landlord...
- shut off my air conditioning when my rent was 2 days late (illegal)
- threatened to forcibly enter my apartment, drunk (I called police)
- refused to fix my non-flushing toilet (illegal)
- tried to evict me via post-it note (illegal - you can only evict through a court)
...among other broken laws.
He has the nerve of now billing me for September rent (I moved out in August after giving required notice), cleaning fees, cost to fix toilet, etc., and threatened "legal action" if I don't pay.
I can't afford a lawyer but I want to sue him. Do you think it's possible to do it on my own? I have proof, witnesses, etc., but no lawyer and I don't qualify for Legal Aid.
What can I do to prepare my case and better my chances?
2006-10-06 12:02:59 · 7 answers · asked by LisaT 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You do nothing at this point. If he tries to (laughably) take you to court, you can be appointed an attorney through the court system. Then present your case. Witnesses should write an affa davit and get the document notarized. In the meantime you can always look up in your local phone book the agencies listed for housing where you can report a bad landlord. It's quite possible he's done this to other tenants, but anyone who tries to evict you via a post it note is obviously crying wolf and has no idea what he is doing.
2006-10-06 12:13:36 · answer #1 · answered by infernal_seamonkey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Are you sure that you want to sue him? I'd say, call him up and tell him everything that you've said here. Make him realize that if you go to court he will lose and lose big time. If the guy has any sense and you go about it reasonably then he ought to agree to let everything drop. Then you can both go on with your regularly scheduled lives. That is what I did with my last landlord. He screwed up a lot of things, then tried to keep my security deposit. I called and pointed out all the stuff he had done wrong and said, hey, this is not enough money to be worth going to court over - why don't you just return my security deposit and save us both a lot of trouble? It worked!!
2006-10-06 12:14:27 · answer #2 · answered by pamgissa 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He is just trying to buffalo you into paying, he probably won't do a think about it, sounds like a real looser. That kinda person can't get there act together to do anything . If you paid a deposit he can legally take out a cleaning fee, but not fixing the toliet. If he didn't require a deposit, that's his problem---------won't stand up in court.
2006-10-10 13:19:14 · answer #3 · answered by dkcasad 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can sue in civil court (small claims) yourself by going to local courthouse and filling out a few form thru clerk of court.
about $50.00. You get it back if you win your settlement.
Be prepared to move out if you sue.
You might be better off calling housing authority or social services
for advice before you decide to sue in civil small claims court.
And first of all-- you need to notify the landlord by certified mail of your problems.
DOCUMENTATION:
Give 10 days to respond to your problems.
You prob will be asked to moved maybe even evicted but if you do it right you can get temporary injunction untilafter your court date.
Certified letter first.
then folllow up.
2006-10-06 12:10:13 · answer #4 · answered by cork 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't sue. Let him take you to small claims court. You show up and argue your case to him. If everything is as you say and you've got the facts, and hopefully the documentation and proof, on your side, the judge will toss his case out.
2006-10-06 12:05:56 · answer #5 · answered by Uncle Pennybags 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sue him in small claims court..
No lawyers allowed...
2006-10-06 12:11:29 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
YOU CAN SUE HIM YOUR SELF BUT YOU GONNA LOOSE AND PROBABLY GET COUNTER SUED UNLESS YOU GET A LAWYER.
2006-10-06 12:05:59 · answer #7 · answered by roy40372 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋