slum lord (Pittsburgh, Penn: low income, leases, eviction)

[nevah92]

i have pictures of both before and after i moved out of a trailer. now the land lord is trying to sue me for damage and other things. can i beat it or not?

[gg]

Depends on your before and after pictures. If they are in your favor, yes you can beat it.

[nevah92]

i did work on the place while i was there so its in better condition then when i moved in

[Hopes]

You'll beat it. Pictures are very valuable in landlord/tenant disputes.

I tell everyone to take before pictures. So few people bother.

[nevah92]

ok can i counter sue for harassment since she unlawfully evicted us in three days?

[Hopes]

Harassment is a criminal charge, not a civil one.

What's your lease say about notice? I'm not sure what sort of recourse you have for not receiving proper eviction notice. You're already out of the trailer, right? How did she evict you with only 3 days notice without going through the court? Did she literally put your stuff outside?

I'm thinking you can only go after any financial losses that resulted from the improperly done eviction (if it was not done within the laws----like fees to put your stuff in storage, etc. But I'm not 100% certain about that, but if I incurred financial loss from something like that, I'd file a counter lawsuit and bring all my receipts to court with the pictures and whatever proof you have that you didn't receive proper notice. I'd view this as an "it can't hurt to try" scenario for myself.

[nevah92]

i didnt have a lease we are already out of trailer and i did have to put all my stuff in storage. she came to the trailer with a man treating my fiancee who is on probation. that she was going to start trouble with the probation officer. and she threatened to make me lose my job. and told us she was changing the locks in three days time. after the second day she came in when our keys were there and locked all the doors and turned on all the lights and left them on all week. while the electric was still in my name. she also turned on the furnace and left it on running the tank out of propane.

[Hopes]

Even without a lease, you have a right to notice by law. There are procedures she should have followed. Landlords can't evict tenants without going to court even tenants who don't have leases.

Do you have proof you were evicted? Emails? Letters? Notice on your door? I'd guess your storage unit could be considered proof of sorts if you don't have any other proof.

I'd try to get reimbursed for storage, extra electricity and the propane. You probably won't get anything for the electricity since you could have taken your name off of that the day you moved. The propane will be difficult to prove but why not give it a try.

You have to focus on your monetary losses. Her threats are only useful to explaining why you didn't legally try to secure your rights by refusing to move until you received proper notice.

Here's the best advice I can give you. Contact Neighborhood Legal Services. They handle these types of cases for low income people.

Neighborhood Legal Services Association

928 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412) 255-6700

[gg]

Originally Posted by nevah92

ok can i counter sue for harassment since she unlawfully evicted us in three days?

3 days? I have a feeling we aren't hearing both sides of this story. Something is going on. Money? Damage? Landlords don't throw out "good" tenants for no reason at all. There must be something more, but I am sure we won't hear from the other side of this story.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

3 days? I have a feeling we aren't hearing both sides of this story. Something is going on. Money? Damage? Landlords don't throw out "good" tenants for no reason at all. There must be something more, but I am sure we won't hear from the other side of this story.

I'm sure there is another side to the story, but the landlord is still required by law to give proper notice.