My Landlord filed for eviction...Help?

About 3 weeks ago, my old Landlord sold the property to a new landlord. Our old landlord sent us a letter telling us where to send our rent payments. We never even got a letter from the new landlord introducing himself until a week ago. We mailed the rent to the new landlord, and we just got an notice of eviction hearing from court on friday. We never recieved a letter from the landlord that he never got the rent-just a supenae for court. I called the LL and told him we never even recieved a letter from him giving us the new address, the landlord gave it to us. I explained that we sent the rent check on October 25 in the form of a money order. He denied recieving it, and does not want to wait for me to trace it. He thought I was going to pay my rent again, without investigating what happened to my first payment. He calls us today to say that he found the check in his office with a letter from the postmaster. It was retouted to the wrong postoffice. He wants us to pay the court fees...

And I do not feel we should pay court fees, since we never recieved a letter from him stating that he never recieved the rent. He never gave us a chance to find out what happened to the check. Why should we pay court fees because he ran to the courthouse instead of calling us first? What a way to introduce yourself as a new Landlord. What do I do, I always pay my rent on time and this new guy just seems nasty. The fees are $200. I refuse to pay it-should I?

Make sure you keep everything in writing and even if it's not in writing at this moment write the story down with as many dates and times as you can fill in! I agree, go to court check the link I'm giving you it is landlord tenant rights for every state in the country! p.s. get ready to move-you don't need this garbage! Find someone who appreciates a good tenant. If you do stay-e-mail him the link to the law! The LL is a fool and inexperienced. He may learn his lesson but, he will probably still blame you-most people don't take responsibility if they can blame someone else! Sorry for your troubles Good luck.

That tickled my funny bone. Report It

i wouldn't pay it , i would go to court on the court date and explain it to the judge and let him make the decision n who pays the court fees

either bite the bullet and pay him the 200.00 and tell him
to remove it from your credit reports or you will sue him
(and then be prepared to move). Don't be afraid to consult
with a Lawyer, your landlord doesn't expect you to defend
or bother to find out what your rights are.

The guy sounds like a real jerk. Just because he is a landlord doesn' mean he knows the law about renters and renting. I wouldn't pay the court fees and I would start looking for a new place because he will probably just find another way to force you to move out, which doesn't sound like that would be half bad given his attitude.

http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/cp/consumer...

What you should do is do a search on your state for tenants rights and go from there. I put a limk to wisconsin on there but it is hard to tell because I dont know what state you are in. But I think that you shouldnt have to pay anything because the new owner is being unfair. So I dont feel that you should have to pay him anything for the court costs because he had the payment just didnt pay attention to it so that is his loss. So maybe you should call around in your area and find out laws about renting. Good Luck.

You need to demand that the landlord dismiss the case, and get a copy of his written dismissal order filed with the court.

Once he dismisses he eats the court cost. The court will not make you pay. If he refuses to dismiss until you pay court costs you can pay an attorney to represent you., and counter claim for your attorney fees, and possible punitive damages.

A public record would appear on your credit report only after the case has been decided that you were at fault. Since you aren't, not to worry. (unless you do not handle this properly).

Never pay anyone by MONEY ORDER!!!!!!!!!

If no checking account get an OFFICIAL CHECK from a bank. If it gets lost they can put a stop payment on it, and issue an immediate refund.

After all is said, and done you may want to move once your lease is up.

I recommend that you contact an attorney who specializes in landlord tenant law immediately.

In most rental agreements there is a provision that the losing party must pay court costs and attorney fees of the winning party.

A good atorney will point this out to the landlord and his attorney..

If what you said is true, you will win if you go to court and the landlord will have to pay your attorney fees and court costs, not the other way around.

Since the landlord chose to go to court he must pay your costs including the cost to remove any negative information from your credit report that results from the court filing by your landlord.

Also, direct your attorney to take the necessary legal actions to make the necessary corrections to your credit report and charge your landlord for those costs as well.

Your landlord is liable for those costs as well if he loses.

Based on the information that you have given in your post, your landlord will lose if you have a competent attorney to represent you.

I would also begin looking for a new landlord immediately.

You do NOT have a ding on your credit....private individuals cannot report to the credit bureau unless they pay for the privilege. He can file a copy of the eviction notice w/ the public recorder's office, but that's it....

Further, each state have very specific steps that MUST be followed exactly including a waiting period and timetable. The fact that you never received written notice for failure to pay rent voids must eviction attempts.

google your state and landlord laws; you'll see that not only do you NOT owe court fees......if you press the matter for harassment and violating tenant laws.....the court would easily fine your landlord for violating the tenant laws.....

Never send rent in the mail w/out "return receipt requested."

As a landlord in AZ, I know the laws very well; and those laws FAVOR the tenant...I screw up and do anything like your landlord did....I would end up paying my tenants' money because I didn't follow the rules.

If you're on a lease, you can leave it to the judge to set it aside and rule in your favor and the LL can go spit...if ur on a month to month, you're screwed, cuz the LL can evict you for no reason...the LL does not place filings on the credit bureau with the eviction process until the judgement is given...the judge can override the eviction in any action, however once the judge has saught in your favor on a MTM, the LL can refile for possession to obtain the residense for his own use on a MTM; so you're screwed if you do & screwed if you don't!!!
If the LL gets judgment, he can then file with the bureau and put a mark on your credit score, but not for monies...you can counter sue @ the hearings for the $200 bucks for the sale in LL's w/o notification to you and failure to send out new addresses.
sounds as though you need to find out the dates of the M/O or C/C and get all the criteria on the check and its receipts to the new landlord so you are ready for court.
be positive and have all your ducks in a row for the hearing and impress the judge with your sincerity and honesty...bottom line is to not allow the LL to place a clout on your credit score with the hanky panky the LLs can create...........he just wants you out for his own reasons, so don't allow his reasoning to cloud the issues of yours.
apts are like pebbles on the beach...walk a foot and you'll find more.

Sorry you are going through this...this new landlord seems like a real a**hole. I recommend, you let it go to court, and argue your case there. I bet your sleezy landlord will be surprised when the judge grants YOU money instead. Your landlord never gave you proper notice-plus the check was lying around in his office. Both of these win your case.

Now is the time to start looking for a new Landlord if your lease is up. (even if it is not, start saving and looking early) This guy sounds like he is going to give you a problem with everything. After you win in court, he might find a way to force you out anyways. Good Luck-call to a lawyer might be helpful. Your landlord sounds like he does not have a clue!

In California, you won't have to pay the court costs and the only way the eviction will show on your records is if you did not contest the eviction and he was awarded it. Just because you file an unlawful detainer, doesn't mean you have an eviction on your records.

Regards...

It goes on your credit ONLY if he wins. Let him take you to court and explain what happened. The landlord will have to show the proof to the judge. The judge is NOT going to make you pay it. And it will not go on your credit record. However, it will not make you popular with your landlord. So I would start looking for somewhere else to live.