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Get legal advise and have your son call the cops if someone wants to change the locks. The law was changed (Nationally) by George Bush that in cases of foreclosure the tenant has the right to stay until the lease is up, in case of a month to month they LL has the right to give notice with the monthly notice.
You son can file a small claims court for damages, rent back, distrubing of the piece and quietness which he has the right to under the lease.
He should tell both so called owners that he will call the cops if any one comes to the house and changes the locks without permission from the court. They need to provide written proof they can do so, which they don't have. It is illegal to change the locks while a singed lease is in place and the tenant is living there without having the tenant evicted. An eviction will not be signed by the judge in this case.
As Ultrarunner stated, you can negotiate all kind of stuff, from having the LL pay for the move out and and additional amounts to make your son leave earlier.
All this advice is fine and good, but I like the path of least resistance. If I understand the original poster, Friday is when the new landlord said the boy had to move out by the weekend, and now it's Sunday morning. That means tomorrow, the whole world is going to be on his front porch, lawyers, locksmith, appliance movers, landlord, police, etc.
The boy TODAY should get his friends together, rent a U-Haul van (they're cheap 24-hour rental deals) and get his stuff out of there as quick as humanly possible. He can be boxing his stuff whilst his friends tote furniture, and any women can be cleaning the baths and kitchen top to bottom so they shine. Last thing is dust or wipe off all surfaces at eye level, run a vacuum behind that, do a final walk-thru (make SURE stove knobs are all off, A/C is off, and frig on lowest temp), leave keys on kitchen counter, and just go. Rent a storage place and put everything in it (that is cheap too). He can stay with his friends, bring a bag of stayover items, until he can find a new place. First thing Monday morning, he should call electric, water, etc., and have everything turned off.
THEN the boy should have a lawyer DEMAND the last several weeks of his rent back and his deposit. The lawyer will know if it's worth going to small claims to get additional money, but I don't think that's worth it, altho sometimes just getting a note from the lawyer under his letterhead will produce needed misc compensation. And of course parents should provide money for lawyer and deposits on any new place he finds until he can return deposit if and when the lawyer gets his old place's deposit back.
The things to leave in the home are curtain rods, bathtub rod, all light fixtures, anything attached to the condo in any manner, any window shades and curtains already there when he moved in, all appliances (if he owns the frig, leave it...he can ask for refund with lawyer), and do NO DAMAGE to the place. If there's a particularly grievous gash in the wall that ordinary paint won't fix, then repair it. Push coat hangers to one side of closests if there's any left, leave existing hand soap and toilet paper on roller in bath. If shelf paper under kitchen sink is soiled, remove it. Try to suck up dust and crumbs under the stove and refrigerator without moving them. Do not leave ANYTHING in the refrigerator at all. And if there's garbage and noplace to put it, take it with him.
He may not be able to rent a U-Haul until noontime, altho in LV everything is open all the time. But even at noon, he can still get everything out today into early evening, and then in morning unload in storage and return U-Haul by noon. I think I would look at the three-day move-out thing as a defensive move on the landlord's part, but hey, if he owns it, despite all rental rules out there, the animal rule is if one position is stronger than the other, run. He can always come back and fight another day. See, if he stays and tries to fight it, he could get locked out, he stands to lose all his stuff or at least be delayed at getting it outta there or having it sit outside cluttering up the landscape, police may not like all this and the son may be in trouble, the list goes on.
Last time I had a lawyer write a letter (for something very simple) she stated it would cost a minimum of $500, which I had to pay up front. In total, after handling the person's response, it cost $1,100 and I called around too and her prices were in line with everyone else.
I just don't think it's practical in situations with a couple thousand dollars in damages to get attorneys involved.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gigimac
THEN the boy should have a lawyer DEMAND the last several weeks of his rent back and his deposit. The lawyer will know if it's worth going to small claims to get additional money, but I don't think that's worth it, altho sometimes just getting a note from the lawyer under his letterhead will produce needed misc compensation. And of course parents should provide money for lawyer and deposits on any new place he finds until he can return deposit if and when the lawyer gets his old place's deposit back.
Get legal advise and have your son call the cops if someone wants to change the locks. The law was changed (Nationally) by George Bush that in cases of foreclosure the tenant has the right to stay until the lease is up, in case of a month to month they LL has the right to give notice with the monthly notice.
You son can file a small claims court for damages, rent back, distrubing of the piece and quietness which he has the right to under the lease.
He should tell both so called owners that he will call the cops if any one comes to the house and changes the locks without permission from the court. They need to provide written proof they can do so, which they don't have. It is illegal to change the locks while a singed lease is in place and the tenant is living there without having the tenant evicted. An eviction will not be signed by the judge in this case.
As Ultrarunner stated, you can negotiate all kind of stuff, from having the LL pay for the move out and and additional amounts to make your son leave earlier.
This is NV not CA. We are not tenant friendly. Legal advice is fine. Just need a couple of hundred dollars with no better use or a half day or more to spend at legal service.
Cops in NV general won't touch these. They want to see a court order. Either way. So once the locks are changed the tenant will have to get the court order. He can in a few days if he is knowledgable. Or he can change the locks back if he has the nerve and skill.
And it is illegal. So what? In 6 months or so you can likely get reparations from small claims court.
This is unfortunately a battle of the de facto versus de jure. De facto wins every time practically .
All this advice is fine and good, but I like the path of least resistance. If I understand the original poster, Friday is when the new landlord said the boy had to move out by the weekend, and now it's Sunday morning. That means tomorrow, the whole world is going to be on his front porch, lawyers, locksmith, appliance movers, landlord, police, etc.
The boy TODAY should get his friends together, rent a U-Haul van (they're cheap 24-hour rental deals) and get his stuff out of there as quick as humanly possible. He can be boxing his stuff whilst his friends tote furniture, and any women can be cleaning the baths and kitchen top to bottom so they shine. Last thing is dust or wipe off all surfaces at eye level, run a vacuum behind that, do a final walk-thru (make SURE stove knobs are all off, A/C is off, and frig on lowest temp), leave keys on kitchen counter, and just go. Rent a storage place and put everything in it (that is cheap too). He can stay with his friends, bring a bag of stayover items, until he can find a new place. First thing Monday morning, he should call electric, water, etc., and have everything turned off.
THEN the boy should have a lawyer DEMAND the last several weeks of his rent back and his deposit. The lawyer will know if it's worth going to small claims to get additional money, but I don't think that's worth it, altho sometimes just getting a note from the lawyer under his letterhead will produce needed misc compensation. And of course parents should provide money for lawyer and deposits on any new place he finds until he can return deposit if and when the lawyer gets his old place's deposit back.
The things to leave in the home are curtain rods, bathtub rod, all light fixtures, anything attached to the condo in any manner, any window shades and curtains already there when he moved in, all appliances (if he owns the frig, leave it...he can ask for refund with lawyer), and do NO DAMAGE to the place. If there's a particularly grievous gash in the wall that ordinary paint won't fix, then repair it. Push coat hangers to one side of closests if there's any left, leave existing hand soap and toilet paper on roller in bath. If shelf paper under kitchen sink is soiled, remove it. Try to suck up dust and crumbs under the stove and refrigerator without moving them. Do not leave ANYTHING in the refrigerator at all. And if there's garbage and noplace to put it, take it with him.
He may not be able to rent a U-Haul until noontime, altho in LV everything is open all the time. But even at noon, he can still get everything out today into early evening, and then in morning unload in storage and return U-Haul by noon. I think I would look at the three-day move-out thing as a defensive move on the landlord's part, but hey, if he owns it, despite all rental rules out there, the animal rule is if one position is stronger than the other, run. He can always come back and fight another day. See, if he stays and tries to fight it, he could get locked out, he stands to lose all his stuff or at least be delayed at getting it outta there or having it sit outside cluttering up the landscape, police may not like all this and the son may be in trouble, the list goes on.
You don't understand NV law either. Nobody is going to be on his front porch on Monday AM. This guy has no eviction notice. Has to go back to court and get that yet.
So he cannot show up with the marshall and the locksmith.
What he can do is try and wait until the tenant is not home and swap locks. It is against the law but still happens.
A business associate owns a vacation Condo in Vegas... his wife noticed a spike in the Utility Bills and decided to make a quick trip to investigate...
They arrived and found a family living in their unit... they called the Police.
The family had Money Order receipts for Security and Deposit, a Written Lease and a cash receipt for a Credit Check fee. The family had found the unit on Craigslist and the Police acknowledge they most likely were victims too.
The Police said it was a civil matter and there was nothing they could or would do.
The owner told the family they were moving... either voluntarily of would be evicted...
If the Police decline to get involved... there isn't much that can be done and that is the reality of living in a civilized country.
Remember... possession is leverage... once the unit is vacant the leverage is gone.
A business associate owns a vacation Condo in Vegas... his wife noticed a spike in the Utility Bills and decided to make a quick trip to investigate...
They arrived and found a family living in their unit... they called the Police.
The family had Money Order receipts for Security and Deposit, a Written Lease and a cash receipt for a Credit Check fee. The family had found the unit on Craigslist and the Police acknowledge they most likely were victims too.
The Police said it was a civil matter and there was nothing they could or would do.
The owner told the family they were moving... either voluntarily of would be evicted...
If the Police decline to get involved... there isn't much that can be done and that is the reality of living in a civilized country.
Remember... possession is leverage... once the unit is vacant the leverage is gone.
Rather difficult for the police to deal with. Unless they have some way to run it down to some local there really is not a lot the police can do. They have two sets of victims and no perp. It will turn out the contact is a gmail address in Cleveland and that all the money was transferred by money orders to blind mail boxes.
The cops will take one look and then throw up their hands. Just too complex and expensive to pursue. Note that civil actions will fail for the same reason.
I would expect a similar response virtually anywhere except perhaps in some of the cities were rental laws are embedded in the criminal code.
The law was changed (Nationally) by George Bush that in cases of foreclosure the tenant has the right to stay until the lease is up, in case of a month to month they LL has the right to give notice with the monthly notice.
Next time this "new owner" comes knocking, tell your son to call the police immediately. This new LL doesn't know the law and/or doesn't care.
Your son needs to tell this idiot who supposedly owns the premises, that he has to show your son a deed or bill of sale to confirm he really is the owner, so your son knows who the real LL is. People lie all the time. If this guy doesn't own the property, this "new owner" is trespassing and should be arrested by the police.
The new owner, if he changes the locks while your son is out, will be committing an illegal eviction. Your son needs to tell this supposed new LL on the scene just that so this new guy understands your son actually knows something about renting, and that he will follow up and take this guy to court at a later date and sue him for illegal eviction and harrassment. Guaranteed your son will win. And if those locks are changed while your son is out, your son needs to call the cops when he finds himself locked out so they can write up a report and be his professional witnesses when he goes to court to sue this s.o.b. Do not let this guy off the hook if this happens. Give it right back to him.
When a property is bought that already has a tenant in it, that tenant has the right to live there until the lease runs out. That lease was sold to the new owner along with the property. Assuming there was a closing on the property at all.
The old LL also must not take out any appliances until your son has moved out on Jan. 2. Goes to illegal entry. A decent, law-abiding LL should know that. Your son is entitled to live in that unit until his lease expires. No LL, new or old, has the right to barge in and do anything - it's an invasion of privacy, is completely illegal - it's breaking and entering; is considered trespassing, and also destroys his "quiet enjoyment" - a legal term in your son's lease. The only way a LL can enter is with at least a 24-hour notice for a necessary repair. One way they can enter without permission is if they reasonably suspect a real emergency (think a fire or something of that nature). If smoke isn't pouring out of the building, there is no emergency.
Since the old LL lives out of state, why don't you ask your son to call him, tell him what's been going on with this new guy, and ask the old LL for permission to change the locks, giving the old LL a new set of keys for himself. That ought to stop the new guy from being able to let himself in and change the locks. There are always 24-hour locksmiths available.
Last edited by AndreaII; 12-08-2010 at 01:37 PM..
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