Yeah, because he needed MORE complications in his life!

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
Well, I picked up our son this afternoon to go start cleaning on the apartment as the lease is up as of Monday. We get there and as I'm inserting the key into the lock I notice that it looks kind of shiny. Key wont turn. Son says let met try. Key wont turn. Go to the landlords office and he informs me that he is fairly certain that his crew has emptied that apartment already but shouldn't have changed the lock yet. Long story short, after a lot of back and forth and dropping our son back where he is living (he told me there are six people living in an apartment that is no more than two bedroom...eh, whatever) I call Lil who is LIVID! Get back to the office (had asked the landlord to call me when the crew showed up that had the new key) and the landlord is in his truck about to pull out. The workers had been there for about 10 minutes and he hadn't called me! Yeah, big surprise there.

Anyway, I ask the worker what was left and he says most of it had been pitched. I stayed calm the whole time but at this point I'm starting to get pretty annoyed as well so I ask the landlord why he decided to enter an apartment that was up to date on the rent and clean it out and prepare for new renters? He stated that the letter that Lil had sent him stated that we were saying we were no longer responsible and wouldn't be paying anything else and he thought it was abandoned, blah, blah, blah. I reminded him that the letter said "As of June 1st we would no longer be responsible" He hemmed and hawed and I informed him that my wife was VERY upset and planned to sue. His overall tone and bearing made it clear that he considered anyone who rented from him a low life scumbag therefore since we helped our son rent there we must be low life scumbags as well. He had the workers let me in the apartment since they were going in to paint anyway. The recliner, bed frame, tv, and tv stand were the ONLY things left. Everything else had been thrown away. I told the workers to pitch the tv and recliner. Didn't want the riders that would bring. Took the other two items and when I got back to the office, again HUGE surprise!!, the landlord was gone. He is in for a rude awakening. Lil already found a Firm to contact about suing him and we are debating if criminal charges may be in order. Yeah, he urinated in the wrong bowl of Cheerios'!
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Words truly cannot convey how angry I am. I am so far beyond livid it is ridiculous.

I paid that last rent payment and with a letter that said, among other things, something like...It's my understanding the lease is us June 1st. Be advised my husband and I will not be responsible for any further rent. If you want to enter into a month to month rental with our son that will be totally between the two of you. We plan to vacate the premises by June 1. After that date you may return our deposit to <address>. If you have any questions, you may contact me at <phone number and email address>.

Did he contact us? NO! Did he wait until June 1 to re-enter the apartment? NO!

Furthermore, it is not legal to EVER enter a rented property in my state without a COURT ORDER even if rent is NOT paid! And it WAS!

Our son now literally owns only the clothes on his back and you KNOW that a-hole plans on saying we don't get our deposit back because they "had to clean the apartment out"!

I want to rip this guy's head off!
 

Tanya M

Living with an attitude of gratitude
Staff member
I understand you are angry but remember, your son owns some responsibility in all this. The only reason you rented the apt. was to help him out and he made a choice to not stay there any longer. That is probably why the landlord thought it was abandoned. I completely agree that the landlord should have contacted you to verify and if the rent was paid up then he should have waited until June 1st before entering the apt.

This is what can happen when we go out of our way to help our Difficult Child, we end up getting burned.

Lil, you are the lawyer and know better than anyone what the chances are of suing this slumlord but consider the time and energy you would have to give to it. Sometimes it's just better to cut your losses.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
I understand you are angry but remember, your son owns some responsibility in all this. The only reason you rented the apt. was to help him out and he made a choice to not stay there any longer. That is probably why the landlord thought it was abandoned.

NO! The landlord is the ONE and ONLY person who bears an iota of responsibility here!

In our state it is NOT LEGAL to enter a rented premises and remove the belongings of the tenant. If our son didn't sleep there ONE SINGLE NIGHT and used it solely for storage, the landlord had NO right to enter. The ONLY exceptions are if you believe it's being used for illegal purposes or if you believe there is a danger to the public health...ie: a meth lab, etc.

EVEN THEN, he would have a responsibility to CONTACT US and not to simply throw everything away!

That's like the bank saying, "Well even though you're up to date on your mortgage payments, you were away on a European vacation for six weeks, so we're going to throw all your stuff out and sell the house to someone else."

We paid the rent EVERY MONTH ON TIME! He had NO right to re-enter the premises, PERIOD, before June 1st and certainly not to throw out our son's belongings!

Lil, you are the lawyer and know better than anyone what the chances are of suing this slumlord but consider the time and energy you would have to give to it.

Yes. And I'm calling other lawyers more up to date on landlord tenant law tomorrow and seeing if I can get one of them to take this on a contingency. Because it's not about the money. I want my deposit and my son to get a couple hundred to buy new clothing and such. Hopefully that will be accomplished simply by a demand letter that won't cost us much. If we have to go to court, I want punitive damages. He needs to pay out the nose because what he did was completely against the laws of this state and I guarantee we aren't the first people he's done this to!

But I'd really like this guy stripped naked and tied to an anthill.
 

JulieAnn

Member
Oh that's horrible. I'm so sorry. Wow, did he pick the wrong parents to mess with!

That just happened recently to my son also. Everything was gone. Everything. Same, was just left with the clothes on his back. The sense of hopelessness just gets worse for them. My Difficult Child is in another state so I've contacted a shelter near to where he is - in some sort of garage. It's over 100 degrees there now - I know he should be doing this leg work - but I had to...he's not thinking straight. I'm sure the heroin might have something to do with it, but I have to live with myself.

I hope it works out. It just gets worse by the day sometimes, doesn't it? Those landlord's are just terrible.
 

SuZir

Well-Known Member
Ouch, that is quite something. I would be absolutely livid too. And to be honest, I would be even more livid, because apparently this landlord does this, because he thinks he can get away with it, because people who rent from him do usually not have resources to protect themselves from things like that.

I may be a bleeding heart liberal, but I find it especially disgusting, when people take advantage of people who are not in position to protect themselves nor in position to be believed if they try to fight injustices like this. I know I would want to fight it in your place partly because I just find it so wrong, that people do things like this because they can. Most of their renters can't fight back, but you may be in position to do so and not let him get away with it this time.

It is not a reason to break law or hurt someone that they are weaker than you and can not protect themselves. Nor is it their fault to be robbed, if they are smaller than people who attacks them. It is no different when it comes to more 'white collar'-versions of robbing people.
 

JulieAnn

Member
I may be a bleeding heart liberal, but I find it especially disgusting, when people take advantage of people who are not in position to protect themselves nor in position to be believed if they try to fight injustices like this. I know I would want to fight it in your place partly because I just find it so wrong, that people do things like this because they can. Most of their renters can't fight back, but you may be in position to do so and not let him get away with it this time.

It is not a reason to break law or hurt someone that they are weaker than you and can not protect themselves. Nor is it their fault to be robbed, if they are smaller than people who attacks them. It is no different when it comes to more 'white collar'-versions of robbing people.

You don't have to be a bleeding heart liberal (Me too by the way) That's just inhuman. It is disgusting. They didn't throw everything out.....you know it was all probably picked through by the landlord and his cronies.
 
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Lil

Well-Known Member
I would be even more livid, because apparently this landlord does this, because he thinks he can get away with it, because people who rent from him do usually not have resources to protect themselves from things like that.

That's the REAL problem here! This man's apartments are for lower-income people. They take Section 8. We picked them because it was cheap and close to where he was working. But the fact is, I planned on calling the housing authority after June 1, because the place ended up being roach infested and the guy won't spray the building. He just sprays the individual apartments and so the roaches come right back after the new tenant comes in.

But there's no way his normal renters would have the resources to do a darn thing. We don't mind losing some money over principle.

Getting him fired would work too......

Unfortunately, he owns the apartments. And they are for sale.

you know it was all probably picked through by the landlord and his cronies.

I don't doubt that. In fact a little end-table that was there now decorates the office! But, our son said "keep it" and since it was his we couldn't take it. We did take the one table and bed frame that was left. I guarantee the working microwave, perfectly good dishes and cookware, perfectly good large rolling suitcase, bookshelves...yeah, gone.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Scum-bag landlords exist everywhere. And they have a long list of tricks, all of which are illegal, and usually get away with it because the people they rent to don't know how to fight back.

Unfortunately... the apartments will sell at some point, and probably to another scum-bag landlord.
 

Jabberwockey

Well-Known Member
Scum-bag landlords exist everywhere. And they have a long list of tricks, all of which are illegal, and usually get away with it because the people they rent to don't know how to fight back.

Unfortunately... the apartments will sell at some point, and probably to another scum-bag landlord.

True, and it will probably end up with another scum bag owner. In the mean time, he didnt just trample on my sons rights, as guarantor he trampled on mine as well. Again, he picked the wrong bowl of Cheerios' to piss in!
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
You know, in a way, this is just a righteous indignation thing.

Jabber and I have been landlords. We owned a mobile home and rented to people who literally didn't pay us for months and refused to move out! We went to court, got an order of eviction, and they STILL didn't move out on the date the judge specified. And even THEN the judge wouldn't give an order of ejectment to the sheriff and instead set a second court date - but they moved out before that date.

The point is, WE didn't just move in and throw out their crap and change the locks! And she never gave us a single DIME in rent!

It's not legal to enter during the lease term even if the rent is unpaid. That's the law.
 
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BusynMember

Well-Known Member
We're renters of homes and now apartments. We are good tenants though and follow the rules. Sadly, we know the names of all the slumlords in the area so that we don't use them. There is one family that is known for treating their tenants like garbage, showing up all the time, and making threats and then suing tenants for damages whether they really have them or not. I swear, they make most of their money off of these "damages."

Most renters are not top dollar people so it is hard to scrape up the money to fight back so, yeah, they pick on the defenseless. And usually win. I have to admit that when I hear that tenants took off in the night, when it is one of this tenant's houses, I giggle to myself. He really treats his tenants like trash and the mean part of me is secretly happy when he is the one stuck holding t he bill. Of course he has money to fix the damage, but still...

I am sorry you are going through this. I hope Lil can suitably recoup your losses. In FULL.
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
He needs to pay out the nose because what he did was completely against the laws of this state and I guarantee we aren't the first people he's done this to!

Something similar happened to our daughter that winter she fell apart. We were stuck for replacing carpet, painting, cleaning fees, lightbulbs. She had taken pictures before she left the apartment but the landlord didn't have to believe her, so he did not.

I am sorry this happened Lil, but if it had to happen, I am glad it happened to someone who can fight back. You are exactly right. These worms know who they are victimizing and they are doing it intentionally. If we hadn't paid, our daughter would have been ~ would have had something affixed to her name or her record or something that would have made it pretty much impossible for her to rent another apartment.

Needless to say, we paid his outrageous "damages/cleaning fees/repainting fees. He kept the deposit.

Nail him to the wall, Lil.

There was not one ethical thing about the way your son's case was handled and irreputable landlords do this kind of thing routinely.

I wish I could be there to see the little cockroach try to evade the Power of Lil.

Cedar
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
I wish I could be there to see the little cockroach try to evade the Power of Lil.

LOL!!! That was nice to wake up to! I just hope that I can find someone to take this, there's so little money involved. But darnit he shouldn't get away with it and I don't want just small claims court.
 

Lil

Well-Known Member
Lawyer contacted. I need to find the damn lease (I KNOW it's around here somewhere) and the letter I wrote the guy with the last rent payment. Lawyer was a bit concerned about there being no electric...but that at most would give him the right to clean out the fridge, NOT to throw out furnishings and clothing, etc.

Still, he's happy to send a demand letter and if the owners (a corporation) doesn't pay up, he'll file. The fact it's a corporation means they'll have to hire an attorney...so it'll be cheaper to pay up in the long run, so we'll see.

Turns out the recommended lawyer is the fiance of a former co-worker, and he hates slimy landlords. :) So it's kind of on principle for him too.
 

Scent of Cedar *

Well-Known Member
What an excellent thing to have come out of all this pain. Strike that blow for every powerless someone who finds themselves villainized at every turn because they are powerless, Lil.

These terrible things happen all the time, all around us, every single day.

I am so (vicariously) powerfully happy you are doing this.

I am going to tell daughter this story.

Roar!!!

Cedar
 
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