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I have been renting out a room in a private house and my landlord recently took out a non-payment petition out on me and some "made-up tenants. My landlord has been accepting my rent in cash(she won't accept checks and money orders) and she's never provided a receipt.
Because there were some conditions in the house that needed to be fixed and i had a problem with one of the tenants harassing me, I wrote her a certified letter and threatened to withold a percentage of the rent and i also requested that she now provide me with a receipt. One day she came to collect the rent and i asked her to sign a receipt that i purchased from Staples. She responded by saying "I don't sign or provide receipts." I said "I know you don't", but you are required by law(In New York) to provide a receipt. She refused to take the money. She then claimed(which i found out wasn't true) that she didn't own the house, she claimed a relative of her's(who she is also suing for back rent) was the owner. The day after i sent the letter this relative of hers, slipped an eviction letter under my door requesting that i move out in two weeks or less. Ever since that day neither one of them has attempted to collect rent from me since. They have been trying to illegally evict me through harassment and intimidation.
Someone in another thread said that i have a duty to make sure my rent is paid or that i could have somehow took measures to force her to accept my rent. But after she slipped the eviction note under my door, i felt that i was no longer obligated to pay her rent. If she would have demanded the rent and refused the receipt then i would have taken the issue to court and told the judge, but she hasn't demanded rent from me in months. She doesn't want rent, she wants me out of her house and she's using this non-payment case as a way to start an eviction case against me. HOW COULD I HAVE FORCED HER TO TAKE THE RENT? WHEN A LANDLORD ASK YOU TO LEAVE, ISN'T THAT THE END OF THE CONTRACT? IF SO, HOW CAN SHE THEN SUE FOR BACK RENT?
I've been living there for about six months if she wanted her rent that bad she would have taken the issue to court months ago. If she would have taken me to court months ago, i would have told the judge she wouldn't provide a receipt and the judge would have forced her to accept the rent. But the real problem is that she is renting illegally and she doesn't want a paper trail of evidence that she renting illegally. She was collecting so much money, and i doubt she was reporting it to the IRS
I really want to move out of this place...and this may seem petty, but i feel that she has done everything in her power to make it hard for me to live in her house and i want to make it hard for her to get me out of her house. She is a spiteful and vindictive person who believes that because it's her house she doesn't have to respect her tenants and i refuse to back down to her.
I don't have copies of receipts so I don't have proof i paid rent. I do have copies of the certified letter/with the receipt that i sent her regarding this issue. I have witness(another tenant)who was there when i offered her the rent and she refused to accept it. I also have a copy of the eviction letter that was slipped under my door, requesting that i move out. I have to appear in court, in three weeks, IS THIS ENOUGH EVIDENCE? DO I HAVE A DEFENSE?
You should have paid your rent and you should have gotten receipts. You should also have had a signed contract, and you should have made sure it wasn't an illegal rental before you moved in.
You should have paid your rent and you should have gotten receipts. You should also have had a signed contract, and you should have made sure it wasn't an illegal rental before you moved in.
It is my understanding that once a landlord sends you an eviction letter, the tenant is no longer obligated to pay the rent. It is the landlord's responsibility to start the legal eviction process, which she hasn't. I did sign a contract with her and yes i should have made sure the place wasn't illegal before renting, but at the same time she shouldn't be renting out an illegal rental.
You say i should have "gotten receipts", as i stated in my thread i tried, but she refused. Just like it's my responsibility to pay the rent, it's the landlords responsibility to collect the rent. If she hasn't made any effort to collect rent from me, she can't then turn around and say i owe her money, especially on a place she knows she is renting illegally.
You're misinformed about the law. An eviction is nothing more than an early termination, and most states require that a tenant is still responsible for rent until a new tenant moves in or their lease expires, whichever happens first. So you are still obligated to pay. And if you do get evicted, you'll still be obligated to pay until one of those things happen.And it's not the landlord's responsibility to collect the rent in the eyes of the law. It's your responsibility to pay it. You know where she is and how to get it to her. She doesn't have to make any effort whatsoever, but you do. That's just the way it works. What do you think landlords who live across the country do to get their rent? Do they fly in every month to collect it? No. It's up to the tenant to get it to them. Rent is your responsibility, not hers.Again, as myself and others have recommended, you really need to contact Legal Aid. If you walk into court with all of these misconceptions about the law, you'll be sorely disappointed with the ruling. Education is your best weapon. And of course moving out now-that will solve it all.
You're misinformed about the law. An eviction is nothing more than an early termination, and most states require that a tenant is still responsible for rent until a new tenant moves in or their lease expires, whichever happens first. So you are still obligated to pay. And if you do get evicted, you'll still be obligated to pay until one of those things happen.And it's not the landlord's responsibility to collect the rent in the eyes of the law. It's your responsibility to pay it. You know where she is and how to get it to her. She doesn't have to make any effort whatsoever, but you do. That's just the way it works. What do you think landlords who live across the country do to get their rent? Do they fly in every month to collect it? No. It's up to the tenant to get it to them. Rent is your responsibility, not hers.Again, as myself and others have recommended, you really need to contact Legal Aid. If you walk into court with all of these misconceptions about the law, you'll be sorely disappointed with the ruling. Education is your best weapon. And of course moving out now-that will solve it all.
My landlord doesn't live across town, she lives right down stairs on the first floor of the house. She decided on the payment method. She decided to collect the rent in person and in cash. Ever since the notice, she hasn't bothered to collect the rent, nor has she sent any letter's demanding the rent.
But thanks anyway...I think I will talk to a landlord/tenant lawyer.
Why have you started yet another thread on the same subject? This is the third in as many days although I think the second which you started yesterday was removed. You're making the same arguments you've made on the first thread and getting the same responses. Go to legal aid if you can't afford an attorney. You can make trouble for your landllady if she is renting illegally but you've already shot yourself in the foot by not putting that unpaid rent into an escrow account.
You say i should have "gotten receipts", as i stated in my thread i tried, but she refused. Just like it's my responsibility to pay the rent, it's the landlords responsibility to collect the rent. If she hasn't made any effort to collect rent from me, she can't then turn around and say i owe her money, especially on a place she knows she is renting illegally.
Stop whining, put on your big boy pants, and take responsibility for your situation. There are things you did not do that caused your predicament. Your landlady may well be a crazy byotch but that doesn't absolve you from being required to pay the rent and pay it on time. It also doesn't absolve you from culpability in renting an illegal apartment (or room or whatever).
If she refuses the rent payment, you send her a money order by mail, with a delivery receipt attached. That way when the postal carrier delivers it, they return you a receipt showing that it was delivered. She doesn't even have to sign, the carrier takes care of it. Then if she doesn't cash the check, you have a receipt and a check stub showing good-faith payment.
If she returns it, you hold on to it along with the mail receipt and the stub, also showing good-faith, and you do not spend the money alloted for that rent. That way, a judge would look favorably on you. What you've done now though, is screw up any sympathy for you that a judge might have. You'll very likely have to pay your rent and back rent.
Learn from this and don't make the same mistakes again.
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