Please Advise
A friend of mine has rented this house for the past 2 years. On june 15th, she was given a 30 day notice to vacate the property. Last week, she asked the landlord if she could stay til july 20th, because she needed a little more time to finish moving, and the landlord agreed to let her stay til the 20th.
on monday morning july 14th the landlord went to her (ie...my friend) work and informed her that the locks were changed on the house, and that when she wanted to move her stuff, she would have to call the landlord and schedule a time when this could be done. my friend requested that we all meet over there in the evening time, however the landlord never showed up. Later that evening, my friend called the landlord, and the landlord refused to give her a key.
When the landlord refused to give her a copy of the key, she called the local police, which told her to there is nothing they could do.
Today we went to the local court house, to file a small claims complaint in the amount of $2500.00 which is the max allowed in small claims in az. We figured the total cost of all the appliance's + pantry full of food + misc. other stuff came to around $4000.00, not to mention that according to state law the penalty for a landlord to unlawfully evict a tenant is 2 times monthly rent.
Our plan is tomorrow send a certified letter to the landlord to demand possession for 1 full day to complete the move, and the following day, send the small claims complaint certified mail.
This is the best thing i have come up with so far, if you have any more ideas please let me know. thank you very much.
Your friends status if unpaid after the 15th is "tenant at suffrance" which is the weakest leashold under the law.
That said, I would say that you may be on the right track, if she won't let you back in then serve her with the papers but don't count on a speedy turnover of goods.
Better yet get a real attorney, or go to legal aid if you can't afford one.
Was your friend current on her rent? had she left the property? had she removed a fair portion of her chattel? COuld this be construed as vacating the property?
Try low-key first and then go get a lawyer.
I'm not sure if Arizona law permits self-help of the type used by the landlord in this case but this is certainly something your friend would want to explore first. In most states, self help such as thing is illegal and the landlord could be liable for treble damages or (like in Florida) free rent for a specified period of time. Unless your friend abandoned the premises (which it doesn't sound like she did) the landlord is probably in the wrong here. I would suggest that your friend speak to an attorney that handles landlord/tenant disputes. There may even be a provision in your state's landlord/tenant statutes for attorneys fees. Call an attorney.
Wingnut,
YourFriend is in the RIGHT...SlamDunk...
...if all you stated is true and correct.
....and jorge121 is RightOnTheMoney!
...as always,
GoodInvesting, Rocky