Eviction......?

Question

Things in question -
1. We never received a lease. (I honestly, Don't even remember signing one).
2. The place has A LOT of structural damage, Including a HUGE hole in the floor under the carpet in my childrens room.
3. We gave them $100 of the $700 we owe them for rent, 2 weeks ago, But due to my husbands line of work, He has been missing a lot of work beacause of rainy weather.
4. They promised a lot of repairs on the place before we moved in, Nothing has been done.
5. We were promised that they would put the linolieum down in our laundry room, The guy came and measuered it, Said he would be back the next day, Didn't come back for a month, And then said to my husband "You can do this, Right".

Our landlord is filing for eviction today - How can we 'fight' this when it goes to court, and is there any chance we'll be in the right?

We have not caused any damage to the property, Have not been loud or obnoxious, and have kept things outside picked up and neat.

The reason we moved here w/out signing a lease, Was because it was the only place, in our price range at the time.

Answer 1

With no lease, you are a month-to-month tenant. That means that either of you can end the tenancy with one month's notice for any reason or for no reason at all.

Failure to pay rent would be a reason to evict immediately, provided that the landlord gives appropriate notice and otherwise follows the local and state procedures for eviction.
In addition, while, in most places, you can deduct costs that you incur in updating the place once the landlord has been put on notice and has ignored the problem, that doesn't sound like the problem here. Finally, there is also something called the "implied warranty of habitability," which means that your landlord has to provide you a place that's habitable (i.e. there must be heat, there must be clean water available, etc.) and you can sue for this (and/or in some circumstances, can deduct from your rent costs incurred with having to deal with the inhabitable conditions), but that doesn't mean that the place has to be "nice," just habitable.

It feels like you're not telling us something... you partially paid your rent, and then what happened? Did the landlord say "this isn't enough"? Did you try to work out payment with him? DId you say that you were withholding rent because of the repairs that never came? Or can you just not afford it this month?

Because landlord-tenant law is EXTREMELY fact specific AND extremely location-specific (the laws vary greatly from state to state, and even more greatly from city to city), you need to contact an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction. Legal aid societies are really expert in landlord tenant disputes... they get them all the time... and if you can't afford your rent, you probably qualify for their free services. Or if you live in a larger city with a law school, see if they have a "legal clinic" that may help you.

At a minimum DO SOMETHING. DO NOT ignore any summons or papers served on you. If the papers tell you to do something (like show up at court on a certain day) then DO it. If you can get counsel, do that. If you can't, at least get all the documentation you have regarding your place to bring to court.

Good luck.

Answer 2

1. You do not need a written lease - in most states no written lease = a month to month tenancy.

2. You should have notified the landlord in writing (legal paper trail) of any and all structural damages. If they were not taken care of you could have:

Moved out after giving proper notice.

Read up on yor states landlord/tenant laws regerding how to demand repairs be done.

Called code enforcement and had an inspection done to force the repairs.

3. You owe rent, the landlord has every right to evict due to non-payment.

4. Verbal promises are worth the paper they are written on. They mean nothing.

5. Verbal promises are worth the paper they are written on. They mean nothing.


You have little to no chance of fighting an eviction due to non-payment if rent has not been paid.

Had you followed your state's laws regarding repairs, made repair requests in writing and called code enforcement then the landlord's actions would be considered retaliatory.

You did not take the required actions prior to not paying rent.

You may not have caused damage, been loud or obnoxious and kept things neat and clean, but you did not pay your rent in full.

Answer 3

Without any written proof, you would have a very hard time winning anything. He is the owner of them house, and unless you can somehow prove you were living under the assumption that you didn't have to pay rent, you obviously knew that rent had to be paid. So yes, he can evict you for lack of payment, even without a signed lease.
Good Luck!

Answer 4

well i thought in most states you had to be behind for 3 months before an eviction. but since there is no lease then i guess it is more of a month to month thing. so i really dont know if you have a good chance. just take pictures of what is wrong with the place, hopefully you have keep receipts for what you have paid in rent

Answer 5

Since you have nothing in writing, you are pretty much screwed. Why would you move into a place and not sign a lease? That is stupid on your behalf. I guess you'll know better for next time!

Answer 6

It doesn't matter if you signed a lease or not. A landlord can evict you when the situation is warranted.
You can bring your case up infront of a judge.

Answer 7

I don't see that you have much of a chance with this. There's no rental agreement and you haven't paid the rent you agreed to pay. Sorry.

Answer 8

the one thing you must do no matter how bad the place, is pay the rent each month. I suggest you start looking for another place.

Answer 9

Having it in writing is essential to this case. but you could sue them for endangerment because of the poor conditions of the house.

Answer 10

Unfortunately you are using the word, "they said/promised", nothing in writing.