ok part 2 of can a landlord does this??

Question

on 6/14/07 i received a letter stating that they are keeping the money oreder of rent incashed and in a escrow account till i either move out or it goes on with the court date for the eviction..i dont get it..they still accpet the rent but still want to go on with evicting me even thjough in my file there are no complaints of any sort.just this thing with the rent..my lease ends in august...so now what..i have a new born baby which i am on FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT FOR and a 3 year old..what to do..postive answers only to help me..nothing negative thanks everyone for there time

ok i live in WI and i have read the lease- i have till the fifth of every month to pay..then after the fifth they will serve u a 5 day to pay rent or get out...so i had gotten that..in my lease it says i have till the 10th to make full payment..and in my case i made it on the tweleve after telling them in person face to face. ( there is a 10 dolalre late charge fee for that) that i cant till the 12th and the accepted that.this is the very first time i have been late..and if they want to b upset that i by law have to take 6 weeks after having a baby b4 i return to work.. then whatever..i had told them i was ending working for 6 weeks and they would adjust my rent etc..ne who..all this can make a play in court..my neighbors are all old ppl except for a another mom with 2 kids. everytime i pay rent it is by the 3rd of eachmonth i ahve recpits so ne ways for u ppl that want to say that being on a medical leave is not gonna help it will..so thanks to everyone answers...

to bethcabjax...yes i did pay with a money order. no i did not have money in escrow..also my lease says that i have till the 10th pay so acutally i may have a 20.00 late fee that is what the lease says..and i did not voilate ne terms etc..i was a good tenat just paid rent a few days later b4 the fifth of everymonth..so i dunno...do i pay july rent too then? court is july 6th? let me know thanks...for ur time

Answer 1

If the landlord cashed your money order for rent while you are under eviction that voids the eviction. Contact the money order company they can give you papers showing who and when the money order was cashed take that to court with you and the judge will dismiss the eviction against you. I do have one question for you did you pay with a money order and also have money in escrow?

Answer 2

Each state & each city have their own laws about what can and cannot be done in your case. Holding the check in escrow means that they cannot use it towards rent and they will not return it to you pending the final inspection of your unit. Usually landlords (in my experience) do not return money because they will claim after you've moved out, that there was damage that the money had to go for. Because u r considered persona non grata (not welcome), this check u sent them and your security deposit will prbly never be returned unless a judge orders otherwise. If I were you, I would not send your landlord another dime and let it go to court, where you can plead your case. It usually takes a month or so to get a case before a judge so in the meanwhile, save any money possible for the eventual realization, that you will have to move and you'll need moving expenses if you don't have friends or family that can help you. You'll also need another one month's security depost and first month's rent, as well. Again, not knowing your state's laws, once your case has been heard and if the judge has ruled against you, you usually get something like 14-30 days to vacate the premises, before a judge will order the county sherriff's office, to send people over to move you out. All of this time should give you some time to come up with money. If the judge by some miracle rules in your favor, then he will prbly order that you pay back-rent in order to stay and will ask for you and the landlord to come up with a plan of payment. I would also talk to the county about getting a public defender so that the landlord's attorney can't pull any crap in court, without it being contested. Finally, Unless you've already been given a court date and your lease runs out in August, It's likely you won't have to move before your lease ends, only because the amount of time I described above, should take you to the end of August before it's all said and done. You also have to remember that many landlords do not want to go to court anymore than you do. The expense is a problem for starters, but then they know that if you're a single mother of two children, it's gonna be harder to get you out, than for instance, a single male without children.
Just get busy looking for a new place and save your money. The landlord will continue to harrass you as long as you are on the property , which is to be expected. Just put them off by telling them that you are working on a resolution.
Getting a reference for a new apt will be hard but if you have a friend or relatives with and different last name, preferably in another state or at least a distant city, you can perhaps call them and have them vouch for you, that your last residence was renting from them, at their same address, in a basement apt, for the past 5 years, or so.
I'm sure you didnt want to get into this situation but I wouldn't recommend doing this again, which means you do a little better in planning for a rainy day. I would'nt have offered the advice but it seems you are in an emergency situation. Good Luck.

Answer 3

I guess I missed "part I", but it sounds like you paid your rent and they are putting this into a seperate escrow account - it that right. Well, I'm not sure why they are evicting you either, but I think that if you have paid your rent (even if they put it into an escrow account) and are in compliance of the other lease terms then you are ok to stay at least until your lease runs out in August. Not sure about this as this "rent money to escrow" thing is throwing me for a loop, but I'd just go to court and explain to the judge that you are current on your rent (bring the cashed check) and are currently in compliance on your lease, and why are you beinng evicted. Even if you were late on your rent or were at one time not in compliance if you are now current and in compliance I think you are ok.

My second thought, however, is that you said your lease is up in August and it sounds like they may want you out then regardless (for whatever reason), so why not just go find another place to live now. At the least you can have something lined up into the court case goes againist you, though I don't think it will.

Good luck with this.

Answer 4

A lot of this depends on what the reason is why they want to evict you. If it is because your are in the wrong, because of a habit of late payments, damage to the house, police or neighbor complaints, etc. it could be difficult.

It could also be because they want to charge more for rent and they can't (due to rent controls) while you are still in there.

Without knowing what the reason they are citing for eviction it is almost impossible to suggest a remedy.

Check with the court if there is free legal aid available to you. They may be able to give you some specific information.

The best thing I can suggest is go to the eviction hearing and make your case. If they say it is something you did wrong, show why it wasn't as bad as they say and show measures you are making to make sure it doesn't happen again. If it is something else, show why evicting you would be a hardship.

If you provide more details about their charges, I might suggest other approaches.

Good luck

Answer 5

when under eviction, the LL can keep the funds or place them into escrow/trust acct; predicated on the states laws.
so no matter what, you do get negative feedback, and about the kids, that's a shame, but the time to stop all this may be mute. Try to go to legal aid for assistance or an attny that takes it pro-bono for %.
unfortunately, state & county laws allow LLs to receive funds and not set aside their court cases in lieu of payments.
I as a LL have compassion for individual situatuons, but come accross so many rental payments that are late that we have to raise our deposits to 2500.00 to pay for the loss of rents during evictions & past rents and late fees due. This is not to say there may be some security & damage issues to deal with as well.
So this is just the facts and not trying to be negitave in a bad situation for you, but the fact remains...seek out counsel for help.

Answer 6

I am not sure what positive answers you are looking for.

You have to pay rent while you are living on the property even while beign evicted. Eviction never has meant free housing. The judgement against you will most likely be that you have to pay thru Aug., the amount of time you said you would when you signed the contract.

You family status has nothing to do with your rent and does not entitle you to live freely.

I don't know why you are boing evicted, but expecting your landlord to foot your housing bill is out of line.

If you can avoid the eviction do so, it stays on your credit report and will make not only housing hard to get, but does not loook that great to employers either.

Answer 7

bubbles, my dear. You are having a difficult time understanding that you have NO RIGHT to occupy premises if the landlord does not want you there. In Wisconsin, a tenancy can be terminated at the end of the lease agreement for NO REASON whatsoever. As long as the landlord does not engage in illegal discrimination (try proving THAT one), he can put you out at the end of your tenancy. You need NOT have done anything wrong.

If he is keeping your rent in escrow, that means he is holding it in a neutral place (account) until you leave. If you do not leave willingly and he has to evict you, he is entitled to keep that escrow to cover his costs of removing you via eviction.

I recommend that you start looking for different living arrangements as soon as possible. You are on the losing end of this one.

Answer 8

EDITED now that we have more information:

If you were as sure as you say you are that the judge with be lenient because of your medical leave, you wouldn't have been on here and asked the same thing to all of us (twice, no less).

You obviously don't get the point: YOU ARE IN BREACH OF YOUR LEASE. Your landlord didn't choose for you to have the baby, YOU DID. The law may have given you six weeks off under FMLA, but the law didn't give you permission to not pay your rent.

In my humble opinon, you DESERVE to be evicted for being so lame. You said so yourself: You paid on the 12th. There you go. Pack your stuff and get outta there.

Ignore everything I said earier because you are in the wrong, not the landlord.

Answer 9

leave; find yourself an apartment designed for families, and not a batchalor bldg. you may have changed your rental agreement by having a child, and hence gives then the legal right to evict, and yes they will keep taking your money...the world is turing into an ugly place when they evict you for having a baby...you must like where your living very much and its sad because someone dosen't want you in the building...just be cause there are no complaints on file doesn't mean that no one has complained about you.....you need to find a more friendlier place to live in..do you really want to raise your kids in such a cold enviroment such as this????? so my advise to you is move as soon as posible, trust me you'll feel much beter in the long run...

Answer 10

in most cases by the time you get evicted through the courts it will be August anyway. just don't pay any more rent and start finding another place to live.