My apartment complex "lost" my first months rent payment. I have given them copies of money order receipts and my bank statement showing the money orders were purchased and have had them tracked with no success. Also, an employee of the complex has said numerous times that I did give her the money orders. However, the complex is trying to hold me responsible for this missing money. I am trying to get an attorney (even though I can't afford it) to see if I can get this resolved. Do I need an attorney with a specific area of expertise or not? And, if so, what area of expertise should I go with?
2007-01-02 07:58:14 · 7 answers · asked by shstrn 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
The attorney you're looking for has expertise with landlord/tenant issues. Of course, this is a real estate / lease / contract deal, and really may just result in a nasty letter written to the landlord, so no particular expertise is necessary.
If you truly cannot afford an attorney, look into legal aid societies or a volunteer lawyers project. Oftentimes, these attorneys have lots of experience representing tenants against nasty landlords. Good luck.
2007-01-02 08:01:23 · answer #1 · answered by Perdendosi 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Any good attorney would tell you that you do not need one for this problem. Unfortunately, you can easily find a bad one that will happily take your money.
What you need to do is cancel the money orders through the bank that you bought them from and get new ones.
Assuming for some reason you cannot do this then the question you have to ask yourself is do I want to pay the amount of the rent (or more) to an attorney or to my landlord. Both options are equally bad.
2007-01-02 16:03:54 · answer #2 · answered by Alan B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you need to combine Alan B and Perdendosi's answers. First, if the money orders have not been redeemed, you should see if you can cancel them and get a refund. (If they have been redeemed, see if you can get any information as to where and when that happened.) If you cannot do this, then check around for a local "renter's rights" or volunteer landlord/tenant advice organization. You local bar association should be able to give you leads on that.
2007-01-02 17:17:25 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Each lawyer has a specialty. You need to find a lawyer that specializes in landlord disputes. First you need to figure out if it's worth getting a lawyer. Even though you are in the right it may not be financially beneficial to you to go ahead with this. You can however take your landlord to small claims court. That will cost you about $70 in court fees and the way that works is that you represent yourself and the landlord does the same. You bring all your evidence to court and present your case and the judge will rule however he or she sees it. Good luck.
2007-01-02 16:18:59 · answer #4 · answered by Serinity4u2find 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
An attorney who practices in landlord-tenant law.
2007-01-02 16:24:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Landlord/Tenant attorneys should be able to help you out. What a bum rap!
2007-01-02 16:34:50 · answer #6 · answered by Starla_C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Contact your local city government. There are probably some Renters Rights laws you could look up.
2007-01-02 16:01:25 · answer #7 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋