Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello. I have a cousin who lives in Texas. She is renting a house that belongs to one of her cousins (different side of the family then were related). He knew she was having low money issues but she wanted to pay at least something because she said she didnt feel right not paying rent. She pays 200 for rent plus her utilities. Shes been there for about 4 months now and I dont know why she didnt notice it before but her cousin hadnt been cashing the checks that shes been giving him for rent. She called to ask him about it and he got mad at her for asking him about it and hung up on her. He called her back a few days later and told her that if one day she came home not to be surprised if he had changed the locks and her not be able to get back inside. She told him well if you do then what about my stuff and he told her all the stuff would be his. She called my mom crying because shes scared he will do it and that on day shell com back home from work and be locked out. Can he even do that considering hes not cashing her checks for the rent?
Just because he didn't cash the checks doesn't mean he didn't accept rent from her. By having accepted rent, and without a lease, she is on a month-to-month agreement. In most states, the landlord is required to give the tenant a 30-day notice to vacate. That means that the landlord cannot change the locks to the unit before the 30-days are up.
It's always frustrating for low-income individuals to deal with these issues, because even if they are legally entitled to such things, they can't always afford a lawyer. She can take him to small claims court if he does evict her and attempt to keep her possessions.
The landlord should be advised that he cannot change the locks legally, and that she is entitled to a 30-day lease. Crying to her mother is not going to solve anything. She needs to assert her legal rights, and treat this as a serious business matter - regardless of the parties involved are family.
Read the fact sheets on Lockouts and Evictions. The landlord cannot lock her out without the proper legal written notices and following the procedures for terminating her rental. If he tries to, she should call the police. If he does illegally lock her out he still has no business doing anything with her possessions, doing so would be theft.
Quote:
Tenant Remedies
If a landlord doesn’t follow the lawful procedure for changing a tenant’s door locks — either by not giving advance notice or not giving the tenant a new key when requested — the tenant has several options. The tenant may:
Recover possession of the premises or terminate the lease contract; and
Recover from the landlord a civil penalty of one month’s rent plus $1,000, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees in an action to recover property damages, actual expenses, or civil penalties, less any delinquent rent or other sums for which the tenant is liable to the landlord.
If a landlord locks out a tenant and will not give the tenant a key unless the tenant pays delinquent rent, a tenant may recover an additional civil penalty of one month’s rent from the landlord in a court action.
A lock out is not the same as an eviction. An Eviction has specific legal steps that the landlord must follow, and it must be done through the courts, he cannot do it on his own.
Hello. I have a cousin who lives in Texas. She is renting a house that belongs to one of her cousins (different side of the family then were related). He knew she was having low money issues but she wanted to pay at least something because she said she didnt feel right not paying rent. She pays 200 for rent plus her utilities. Shes been there for about 4 months now and I dont know why she didnt notice it before but her cousin hadnt been cashing the checks that shes been giving him for rent. She called to ask him about it and he got mad at her for asking him about it and hung up on her. He called her back a few days later and told her that if one day she came home not to be surprised if he had changed the locks and her not be able to get back inside. She told him well if you do then what about my stuff and he told her all the stuff would be his. She called my mom crying because shes scared he will do it and that on day shell com back home from work and be locked out. Can he even do that considering hes not cashing her checks for the rent?
Do you believe everything that they tell you...the facts may be totally different.
We had issues with a tenant and had all the facts. The tenants wrote BBB, our franchise head quarters, etc...and all we did was submitting the facts and that was the end of the story...
Many people tend to twist the facts/truth or come up with their own truth and common sense is not to common anymore!
The story is definitely out of whack and makes no sense whatsoever. There's way more to this than meets the eye and I'm rather guessing that your cousin is setting the groundwork to leech off someone else ... you and your mother should stay out of it.
Landlord Problem/WHAT'S YOUR OPINION/ There is More
I have been renting a home since 2010. 60 days ago my air conditioner stopped working. I contacted the landlord and they said they would send someone out to look at the thermostat. A week later a guy came out to replace the thermostat. I did not resolve the problem. The landlord said do not do anything, the guy must have put the wrong thermostat in......I explained to the landlord that it is the blower motor. They insisted that it was the thermostat. I contacted a air conditioner company. They came out did the diaqnostics. They said the blower motor needs to be replaced. I contacted the landlord and informed them of the findings of the A/C company and the cost to replace it. I told them i would pay for the repairs and deduct it form the rent. They told could not replace the motor and not let anyone do any repairs....Luckily, the temps here in Dallas were somewhat mild until recently. Last weekend the initial repair person came back to the house and replaced the thermostat again. Again, he contacted the landlord then informed them that new thermostat was not the problem. It was the blower motor. The landlord informed him that I should open the windows( which has burgular bars w/ no screens), go out and rent some air conditioners until they can find someone to come out. During this time now, the average temp in the house is reaching 90 degrees and above in the house during the day time; and my wife is starting endure headaches and nose bleeds. The next day I receive a call from the landlord that says I should keep the rent and just move out; No, I have been very patient and only trying to resolve the issue. I am going to replace the blower motor and give the landlord the balance of the rent. Believe me this person is nuts...........See ya in court.
I have been renting a home since 2010. 60 days ago my air conditioner stopped working. I contacted the landlord and they said they would send someone out to look at the thermostat. A week later a guy came out to replace the thermostat. I did not resolve the problem. The landlord said do not do anything, the guy must have put the wrong thermostat in......I explained to the landlord that it is the blower motor. They insisted that it was the thermostat. I contacted a air conditioner company. They came out did the diaqnostics. They said the blower motor needs to be replaced. I contacted the landlord and informed them of the findings of the A/C company and the cost to replace it. I told them i would pay for the repairs and deduct it form the rent. They told could not replace the motor and not let anyone do any repairs....Luckily, the temps here in Dallas were somewhat mild until recently. Last weekend the initial repair person came back to the house and replaced the thermostat again. Again, he contacted the landlord then informed them that new thermostat was not the problem. It was the blower motor. The landlord informed him that I should open the windows( which has burgular bars w/ no screens), go out and rent some air conditioners until they can find someone to come out. During this time now, the average temp in the house is reaching 90 degrees and above in the house during the day time; and my wife is starting endure headaches and nose bleeds. The next day I receive a call from the landlord that says I should keep the rent and just move out; No, I have been very patient and only trying to resolve the issue. I am going to replace the blower motor and give the landlord the balance of the rent. Believe me this person is nuts...........See ya in court.
It's a good idea to start a new thread and not latch onto one which bears no relationship to your issue. But anyway I see you don't have an issue but were telling a story.
I have been renting a home since 2010. 60 days ago my air conditioner stopped working. I contacted the landlord and they said they would send someone out to look at the thermostat. A week later a guy came out to replace the thermostat. I did not resolve the problem. The landlord said do not do anything, the guy must have put the wrong thermostat in......I explained to the landlord that it is the blower motor. They insisted that it was the thermostat. I contacted a air conditioner company. They came out did the diaqnostics. They said the blower motor needs to be replaced. I contacted the landlord and informed them of the findings of the A/C company and the cost to replace it. I told them i would pay for the repairs and deduct it form the rent. They told could not replace the motor and not let anyone do any repairs....Luckily, the temps here in Dallas were somewhat mild until recently. Last weekend the initial repair person came back to the house and replaced the thermostat again. Again, he contacted the landlord then informed them that new thermostat was not the problem. It was the blower motor. The landlord informed him that I should open the windows( which has burgular bars w/ no screens), go out and rent some air conditioners until they can find someone to come out. During this time now, the average temp in the house is reaching 90 degrees and above in the house during the day time; and my wife is starting endure headaches and nose bleeds. The next day I receive a call from the landlord that says I should keep the rent and just move out; No, I have been very patient and only trying to resolve the issue. I am going to replace the blower motor and give the landlord the balance of the rent. Believe me this person is nuts...........See ya in court.
You had better read the Texas laws regarding repair and deduct. There are very specific requirements you have to follow before you can legally do that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Landlord Problem/WHAT'S YOUR OPINION/ There is More
