I need a lawyer with knowledge in both small claims court and landlord/tenant law who is willing to work with me and give free legal counsel. We may or may not be sued by our former slum lords (if you ask me) and i need to have you look over the lease, letter of 'eviction' and the letter i received today telling me that we did roughly $1400 to a house which they were moving back into, and in all reality, all the damage was notated and caused by the previous tenants. I also need to be able to take their inventory checklist from the previous tenants and match the "damages" we caused to that list.
I don't really have any extra money, and once you hear WHY we don't have money, you'll understand why we are appalled that these slum lords are expecting MORE money from us...
2007-11-27 12:11:24 · 3 answers · asked by xcaribearyx 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
There is no such thing as a small claims lawyer...that is why people use small claims court...no attorney necessary.
All you can do is let them sue you, or you can sue for your deposit, and argue your case and let the judge decide.
The eviction you can't fight...if your lease is up or you didn't pay, they have ever legal right to kick you out...you would be wasting your time with it.
Don't call them slum lords...you saw the property BEFORE you rented it...that was a CHOICE that you made, and no one forced you to rent from them.
2007-11-27 12:21:07 · answer #1 · answered by Expert8675309 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Didn't you obtain a condition check-in report when you moved in ? If you don't have anything in writing from the landlord that certain damages existed when you took occupancy, you're wasting your time and effort. The landlord should have given you a cost breakdown of the damage issues. If you cannot prove they were there at occupancy, no small claims judge is going to take your side.
And the first poster is correct. You don't need a lawyer. What you DO need is to learn how to handle rental transactions so that you are properly covered.
2007-11-27 12:54:17 · answer #2 · answered by acermill 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hiring a lawyer for minor legal problems can be expensive, but there are websites like LawGuru, FindLaw and other places where you can get free legal advice. I found this website useful - http://www.uelp.org/freelegal.html
2007-11-30 19:07:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋