Evicted - Court. What to expect?

Cohesion

Cohesion

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
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I have court in 2 days. We have been evicted for nonpayment of rent. Very complicated situation.

What should I expect? What questions will the judge ask me?

I'd like to inform the judge + landlord that I will be off the premises, and it will be in clean condition, by June 1. (5 weeks away).

Thoughts & experiences?
 
Honestly you dont even have to show up! The guy who owns it is going to get a default judgment the judege orders judgment against you but you still dont have to pay. Thats what happened to me
 
It would be better not to have a judgment recorded against you. This would affect your credit for 10 years. If the problem is simply that you don't have the money to pay your landlord, maybe you can work something out with him or her - a payment plan, perhaps, or the forfeiture of your security deposit - and have him or her cancel the court date.

Also, a judgment means they will eventually try to get paid by garnishing your wages. They can take a certain percent each paycheck until the judgment is paid.

If there are other problems why you didn't pay that you believe are the landlord's fault, then prepare the best case you can, with one or more witnesses if possible, and appear in court prepared to demonstrate why your landlord did not keep the premises in habitable condition or whatever other reasons you can present as to why you did not pay the rent.
 
I wasn't aware that wages could be garnished for a debt to a landlord ^ ^ How long does it take before this process begins, and is that allowed nationwide?
 
Wages can be garnished for money owning from any court judgment against an individual unless he or she discharges the debt through bankruptcy. The judgment can also be satisfied by seizing money held in a bank account, and by seizing and selling property. The person who wins the judgment can ask the sheriff to go after whatever the losing party possesses in order to pay the judgment.

Or is there a special rule pertaining to judgments by landlords that I'm not aware of??
 
Johnny1 said:
It would be better not to have a judgment recorded against you. This would affect your credit for 10 years. If the problem is simply that you don't have the money to pay your landlord, maybe you can work something out with him or her - a payment plan, perhaps, or the forfeiture of your security deposit - and have him or her cancel the court date.

If there are other problems why you didn't pay that you believe are the landlord's fault, then prepare the best case you can, with one or more witnesses if possible, and appear in court prepared to demonstrate why your landlord did not keep the premises in habitable condition or whatever other reasons you can present as to why you did not pay the rent.
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At the very least, I need to show up at court... just to WASTE HIS MORNING.

He's a slumlord.

-Knocking on the kitchen window at 9.30 PM for the rent (no warning). My SO comes out of the shower in a towel. Landlord wants $$$ handed through window.

-On the 8th day of rent being late, I stated very clearly and boldly, to avoid conflict or misunderstanding, that he could come and get cash cash on the 11th day it was late. He held me on the phone to argue, insisting that he.would.be.in.town. on the following night and that we WOULD pay. I repeated the facts of when we'd have it again and hung up.

-He did show up on that 9th day, thank god I was in class. He showed up with a cop buddy to give a "5 day notice". So stupid, if he'd waited 48 hours he'd have had cash in hand8)

-He has repeatedly refused to give receipts (unless nothing more than a scribble on the back of something else), to give a lease ("they're useless"), and refuses checks ("this is a cash deal").

-I was staying at the domestic violence shelter. During that time he broke in to our house. At least 4 neighbors witnessed it. Should I see if one will come along? It would be a stretch & they might want to be paid for their time. I..don't know. I'll ask!

This is where I'm going to get my edge:

I have panic/anxiety disorder, as well as other diagnoses. I plan to bring in a statement from my Doctor simply stating my condition. In the other hand I will bring a statement showing I was at the DV shelter for the certain week that during which he actually DID break in. I have paranoia & agoraphobia that was exacerbated as a result of how he conducted himself when he came on premises. As a result I had to take my daughter to a domestic violence shelter. I still don't feel safe here.

Thanks for the responses. It's tomorrow morning! I feel that as long as I bring the statement from my doctor and from the shelter it will be enough to win in our favor.
 
Johnny1 said:
Wages can be garnished for money owning from any court judgment against an individual unless he or she discharges the debt through bankruptcy. The judgment can also be satisfied by seizing money held in a bank account, and by seizing and selling property. The person who wins the judgment can ask the sheriff to go after whatever the losing party possesses in order to pay the judgment.

Or is there a special rule pertaining to judgments by landlords that I'm not aware of??
Click to expand...

Ive had the sheriff come out 5 times trying to get me to pay, or setup a payment plan for a judgement against me. I was asked to fill out a form of my possessions and anything over 2000 dollars I owned, they claimed they could seize. Well, since I don't have over 2000 dollars of items, and am currently unemployed the sheriff stopped coming. He told me its his job to go around all day and try to get people to cough up money. He also said he rarely gets anything and sometimes sets up payment plans as low as 20 dollars a month. I just received a fairly large sum of money in my account for tax refund, maybe I need to get rid of that money quick... I am not about screwing over landlords, but mine definitely did NOT deserved to be payed more than 1 partial months rent (its a LONG story, and I fought it in court, and she lied while on oath)

So essentially any time in the next 9 years (this happened a year ago) any large sum of money in my account is subject to be seized at any time.... ? Ouch...

On the form I filled out I gave my current bank balance which at the time was under 20 dollars. Is my bank account now going to be under surveillance? (Seems highly unlikely for an 1800 dollar judgement.)
 
mami said:
to give a lease ("they're useless"), and refuses checks ("this is a cash deal").
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If he didn't have a lease, he wouldn't have a case... and to my knowledge he can choose to only accept cash.

mami said:
-I was staying at the domestic violence shelter. During that time he broke in to our house. At least 4 neighbors witnessed it. Should I see if one will come along? It would be a stretch & they might want to be paid for their time. I..don't know. I'll ask!
Click to expand...
Did he actually force the door open or did he use keys? If he knocked first and rent was late (even if rent wasn't late) most landlords reserve the right to enter the premises at any time. Again... this would be a LEASE issue, you have not been exactly clear on the lease agreement you had.

mami said:
I have panic/anxiety disorder, as well as other diagnoses. I plan to bring in a statement from my Doctor simply stating my condition. In the other hand I will bring a statement showing I was at the DV shelter for the certain week that during which he actually DID break in. I have paranoia & agoraphobia that was exacerbated as a result of how he conducted himself when he came on premises. As a result I had to take my daughter to a domestic violence shelter. I still don't feel safe here.
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Unless you have a medical expert tag along with you to testify to the above.... I wouldn't even bring it up.... sounds like a pretty weak excuse NOT to pay the remainder of the rent.
 
He didn't have a lease. We met last August and handed him cash and made a verbal agreement about a few things, such as rent being due on the 15th of each month.

My main complaint is going to be Inappropriate Behavior resulting in Exacerbation of Medical Condition.

But that is just my side. A lot of the arguing and disagreements happened between my partner & the landlord. There was never a calm enough moment that was appropriate to hand over the cash.

More or less, the landlord demanded (yes demanded even though we've ALWAYS been early/ontime) rent cash at 2 different times that we were not able to provide it. We offered it in 2 ways that he refused.

And when he came to pick it up as "usual" he scared the crap out of signifant other who was in a towel. By banging on the kitchen window. So HE was out of line first.

I only have a statement of my medical condition. It's from my medical doctor so it says Depression, Anxiety, & Back pain. She would not add Agoraphobia & panic disorder b/c she doesn't have my psych records. But those are the conditions that were exacerbated as he's been showing up randomly and been really hostile. I live in fear of that person. Even though my evidence of my condition is not "hard" evidence, I will still explain it. And that because of him intimidating me I had to stay at the domestic violence shelter. ...So you don't think it'd be a good idea to bring this up?
 
To be honest I don't think it will hurt you, but I highly doubt that it will be effective in the final decision....

You would have to speak with a lawyer about this, and although there are free consultations.... hiring a lawyer for this case and finding out the real chances of using that as a defense will most likely cost you WAY more than what you are being sued for.... So you had a verbal agreement of month to month rent.... did you give a security deposit??? Without a written agreement.... I think that he would only be able to take the security deposit to cover one month rent....
 
Court's in a few hours - I'm getting ready.

He wrote on the back of a piece of paper what we gave for rent. I don't know where it is, and no one has a copy of that or anything.

The crappy part is that for us, I took $100 off security deposit because I was moving into an unclean house, and took $100 off security deposit because we were going to have the carpets cleaned for that price (& we did). How to get compensated for THAT, you know?

I'll let you all know how it goes!!! thanks for your responses :)
 
Well, it may be too late to chime in, but eviction laws are state-dependent, so it is useful to know what state you are in.

Also, I think trying to play up sympathy (I'm sick, I was in a shelter) is not the way to go. Sick people and people from troubled backgrounds are still expected to satisfy their contractual obligations.

That said, the SLUMLORD angle is what you want to pay up. If you can list items in the apartment that make it uninhabitable, then you may not have a right not to pay rent and it may be the landlord who gets in trouble. I would also definitely bring witnesses if you can to the landlord trespassing on your property since, arguably, if he broke the lease by trespassing, that may excuse payment of rent to some degree. I would also make sure the judge knows loud and clear that you have TENDERED THE PAST DUE RENT repeatedly and the landlord has refused to accept it. That could also buy you some time and, in fact, could make the eviction notice fraudulent (since those notices often depend on the landlord swearing under penalty of perjury that you are unwilling to pay rent).

Most urban areas and courts can refer poor tenants to some free legal counsel to assist with these sorts of proceedings. That would be helpful for you, if there is still time.

Sometimes you can negotiate a settlement that the judge will approve, such as fixing an agreed move out date, agreeing how much you will pay to the landlord by what date, and then the judge will simply put his stamp of approval on it by declaring it a judgment. You can even make it part of the judgment that the judgment itself is NOT to be recorded against your credit (I'm not sure of the exact terminology for this kind of provision, but I saw this happen once in Riverside, CA).

Good luck!

~psychoblast~
 
I too would love to know how this case developed as i agree with Psychoblast and the whole I was in shelter and medical things may very well be useless.

In all honesty when you make an agreement to move in and pay a certain amount by a certain date sadly you must do those two things Or get evicted

if the landlord is acting a jerk Reporting him is an option However since no reports (at least as far as we know) were ever made on this guy then going to court Now when you have no paid rent and bringing them all up is well no real excuse
True he may have been dead wrong on some things but it is like water under the bridge now because when it all was happening it was never addressed.

Now all that said Evictions can take a while if you play the courts proper
You can ask for more time to pay it. Judge may grant it, If not you can go file an appeal

If you are limited financially contact Legal Aid for help they charge very little depending on your income it may not charge anything.
If you do not pay the rent though you must get out



If as you state you wish to move and you owe for the previous months rent i would really get it organized because yes as said that can go on your credit report
Also when you are leaving TAKE PICTURES that are Time stamped and i mean have the date and time on each one.
I say this because i had a landlord who was evicting me(because I got a service dog and they refused me ability to keep I discovered later I could have sued them and kept the dog) and I got another apartment and moved I cleaned my apartment and left Aug 2000
In November of 2000 I am told by a old neighbor that they went to evict me with the sheriff and they pulled out bags of stuff.
Mind you i left it empty and clean
Sadly i never took pictures and had no proof they took it to court no one ever sent me a summons or anything and now they claim (and YES it is still on my credit report) that i owe 2000.00 for the repair and cleaning
'The darn place was concrete and steel No way was it possible to do that much damage to begin with but since they Never had me summoned to court I had no way of fighting it when i found out they had a judgement against me it was only because I did a credit check on myself 3 years later (do one every year it is FREE you need none of those pay membership things and it is helpful)

So whatever you do i hope you get it all in pictures with dates on it

Good Luck
 
psychoblast said:
That said, the SLUMLORD angle is what you want to pay up. If you can list items in the apartment that make it uninhabitable, then you may not have a right not to pay rent and it may be the landlord who gets in trouble. I would also definitely bring witnesses if you can to the landlord trespassing on your property since, arguably, if he broke the lease by trespassing, that may excuse payment of rent to some degree. I would also make sure the judge knows loud and clear that you have TENDERED THE PAST DUE RENT repeatedly and the landlord has refused to accept it. That could also buy you some time and, in fact, could make the eviction notice fraudulent (since those notices often depend on the landlord swearing under penalty of perjury that you are unwilling to pay rent).
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Court turned out to be a non-event. As we 4 (me + SO, landlord, and his "cop buddy"/"lawyer" lol) were in front of the judge, WE were dismissed. The landlord wanted to serve us then and there (had to do it 3 days prior), PLUS his guy was possibly not liscenced to serve.

Two days later the cop buddy/lawyer tosses a piece of paper at my partner telling him we're served. i have no idea about that- I have too much else going on in my life.

Partner says he wants to go to court and tell the judge that we DID pay the last month rent - through the window, while wearing a towel at 9.30 pm - and the Landlord is throwing a fit because it was only partial rent. And there is a debate about doing work for him and how he wants money off rent for the work. *Since there are no receipts (he doesn't give them many arguments have been made over receipts)* He's gonna say that he did pay that month.

To be true, I think I'm moving outta here next week!!!! I'm going to be a single mom :D

THEN I'll be back with MORE issues. heheh.

I need to open another thread for a seperate issue related to the landlord 8)
 
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