is there a way to fight eviction? if so, how and what is the process?

Question

i have been evicted from my apartment because i didn't pay my rent due to the fact that my landlord promised to fix so many things in my apartment and didn't do them! and when we did pay the rent he would just disappear and not come back until it was rent time again- and wouldn't give us receipts of rents paid! so my husband held rent- landlord's wife took us to court and had us evicted- i don't know what to do, i know we have to pay the rent owed but then what?do we have some time to look for another apartment? or what? has this happened to anyone? any legal advice on what to do? please help any suggestions will be appreciated- thanks.

i live in the state of new jersey.

Answer 1

sue him for being a slumlord.

Answer 2

Legal advice is beyond the scope of Yahoo Answers and you should consult a law professional for that.

Also, eviction laws vary from state to state. Adding a comment about which state you're in could help greatly.

Unfortunately, where I am in California, a landlord property is their own, and they have the right to evict anyone at any time without cause. It happened to me twice although I paid my rent on time.

If a landlord isn't making the necessary repairs to your apartment, you can report them to Housing and Urban Development.

Once an eviction process is started, the only way to stop it or obtain a stay would be to go to court/arbiter (if your apartment owner uses arbitration). Usually, the disputed amount of rent has to be paid for this to work, and reparations can be made (landlord has to pay fines for failing to meet building code) if the repairs promised are to improve the condition of a building that does not meet your state/county's standards.

Answer 3

well you should have held his money in escrow that way you could have took him to court to and made him fix everything adding your lawyer fees, court cost,pain and suffering and/or been able to move out of the situation all together. But by being evicted that is on your record for at least seven yr. Sorry I mean you signed the lease as a promissary to pay and it never says if we don't fix it you don't have to pay, maybe you can go to court and try to fight but I doubt you would get a reversal, were you still a resident I would have advised on under immediate measures file bankruptcy that would have been like a stay of exacution, then you could have then could done the lawyer proceedings. But I really wish you all the best !

Answer 4

Unfortunately, you cannot legally withhold rent for non-repair, unless you have notified them of a repair-and-deduct action (which would mean you had the repair done and withheld the amount from the rent).

And because the eviction is for non-payment of rent, they're within their rights to give you a three-day notice.

Laws differ in different states. Contact a local tenants' union or rent board for advice.

Answer 5

I already do. Ephesians 6:10-12 New King James version (NKJV) the entire Armor of God 10 finally, my brethren, be sturdy contained in the Lord and contained in the capacity of His might want to. 11 placed typically armor of God, that you're able to face adverse to the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not attempt adverse to adverse to flesh and blood, yet adverse to principalities, adverse to powers, adverse to the rulers of the darkness of this age, adverse to non secular hosts of wickedness contained in the heavenly places.

Answer 6

First of all, with holding rent for cause means you must show you could have paid the rent, by putting it in AN ESCROW ACCOUNT. You can go to any bank (preferably your own and tell them you want to open an account to put your rent in), specifically for this purpose. By law, you are required to do this in most states, in order to legally withhold rent for cause. Best way to show cause is to mail the landlord, by REGISTERED or CERTIFIED MAIL and regular mail (do both and be prepared by having copies when you go to eviction court to show you tried to have these delivered at his address (whether he signs for them or not, one will get through), Or the court will assume delivery was attempted (save reciepts of all of it!) Take pictures and document any unsafe, hazardous, or serious housing violations and list them in the letter you sent. Have a copy of the same letter to show the court you tried to have him correct these violations. Also, if the home, say, the heating system is not working and the landlord won't get a repairman to come and fix, you may use a portion of the rent to pay a repairman to come and fix and send him the rest. Also, you SHOULD NOT be paying the landlord in cash unless he gives you a reciept. Especially if you are paying in cash. The cash DOES NOT LEAVE YOUR HAND UNTIL HE SIGNS A RECIEPT. If he won't do that, then pay by a recordable, tracable method, such as a check or money order and keep YOUR RECORDS. You are responsible for doing this. If the place is in such bad repair and he is such a slumlord, why do you stay? Why not move? It makes no sense to try and stay in a place that has a mightmare of conditions, that cause you to regularly withhold rent. And a judge will also look at that, so unless your financial circumstances are unbelieveably dire, expect no sympathy in court. A judge will expect you to have made reasonable efforts to minimize costs, to have performed as your lease agreement states, reasonably and with good faith. They expect you to have been crystal clear about what your abode is lacking or needs repairs to, and they expect you to document it if it is true. You can call your local housing authority and tell them the conditions of the property and asked them to come and document (better to have assistance in the documenting, but not solely) and if they issue violations to the landlord, this will help bolster your case. If you are on a month to month lease, or have no lease, be prepared to be tossed out or asked to leave even if you win. The court will give you a reasonable amount of time to pack up and move, but don't expect you can live rent free somewhere, claiming the conditions are horrendous, yet you continue to stay and not pay. Courts don't like it when you lie. But if you have a true slumlord, who is taking advantage, use the system to your advantage and show his property to the local housing authorities. Also, check with your town, county and state to see if a C/O (certificate of occupancy) or something like it is required in order to rent to someone and see if your landlord has obtained one. Some communities require one every time you get a new tenant, some once a year and some its a simple smoke detector cert, but slumlords sometimes try to avoid the $25 to $200 cost, by skipping it. If they do and you can prove it, some jurisdictions punish the landlord by making the landlord refund ANY rents collected (that can prove they were paid) back to the tenants. My advice? Get cracking on what your rights are in your area by calling the housing authority, go to the library and ask to see a copy of your states tenant/landlord rights and responsibilities and make sure your landlord has everything he is supposed to have, and make sure you ESCROW your funds for withheld rent. If the problem is a leaking faucet, withholding $600 will be considered too much, but you sure would be within your rights to call a plumber (unless you are one) and have them repair the faucet and hand him the bill you paid with your reduced rent (reciept for which comes to you before you hand him cash). Show up to court, dressed respectfully, with all reciepts of letters, mailings, rent reciepts, bank records, copies of housing violations, pictures of the conditions you are claiming, and any missing items the landlord should have but does, get copies and bring them to court with you. BE PREPARED to let the judge know what the real deal is. If you must pay your landlord and get no reciept, have a witness who can come to court, who is believable, honest and will testify in court he/she saw you was there when you gave your landlord money. Having an independent witness can really help you, one who wouldn't lie for either of you and will only tell what they saw can be an invaluable tool in court to prove ones case. If you are able to do this, you have a good chance of getting the judge to make him correct the defienciencies, or to continue to withhold rent for you (usually still have to put it into escrow). Judges may penalize a landlord by giving him none of the escrow, returning it to the tenants for their good faith escrows, or they may award a portion to the landlord, or the whole thing if they think you were unjustified, or he complies with the demands made. Let me know what happens okay? BTW, I did all this in New Jersey, so I don't know what your state is, but New Jersey makes it difficult for landlords if they haven't got their certs. Good luck!

Answer 7

Yes,email me for info

Answer 8

get a lawyer