DFWM landlords and legal gurus.

[dmh165638]

By the wording in the letter this has happened numerous times. Whether she did it every time probably could never be proved but they are getting punished for it. I am sure other kids have screwed with them also but she is the one that got caught red handed.

[SVT Lurch]

I don't know what they're worried about, they're just bringing their "right to occupancy to an in" - sounds to me like they can live "in" the apartment.

[bcoop]

I know that situation can't be easy (autistic kid), but you keep throwing up excuse after excuse after excuse. People that do that tend to have a long history of failure to accept responsibility. If this situation really is as portrayed, and it was a one time incident, I wouldn't want to live there anyways and they will be better off somewhere else. JMO.

[talisman]

I know that is your buddy and you like to go out of your way to help but sometimes you just gotta let people find their own way.

Man, truth. I'm dealing with something right now with one of my oldest friends, and it just seems like lots and lots of bad decisions. I'll continue to talk them through it and give empathy, but sometimes getting directly involved is a bad idea.

That being said, it seems ludicrous that they would evict a long time tenant for this, but who knows. Rent prices are going up everywhere due to the housing market, and it might just be an excuse to get fresh meat in the building at a higher rate.

[UserX]

Where's the contract? What did he violate?

This is what matters.

[Baron Von Crowder]

I'd suggest that they pick up something like this for their next apartment.

http://www.kidsafeinc.com/kidco-door-knob-lock/?gdftrk=gdfV27325_a_7c922_a_7c2271_a_7cS352&gclid=CjkKEQjwlIqdBRDy6JSK4Lmn1akBEiQAVa9dPTG5t_UxY2Y3VWh6n969Vc8jZLZ4pkTu5IU_0R726QXw_wcB

[Crownline79]

Not to sure but a contingency attorney would be a good starting point since the apartment would be liable for his attorney fees and possible treble damages if he wins.

[Chili]

I think there are some pretty well developed tenant rights boards online too, where you may be able to get a whole bunch of good info.

[LaserSVT]

Not throwing up excuse after excuse. I said in the first post what the kids issue is and just repeated it. I did not add anything to it.

This is an isolated incident though and agree, it just sounds strange to evict a long time on-time paying tenant for it. I can not say with any certainty if there is anything else going on. Reading the eviction paper it seems there are no other issues. My friend says he has never had any other issues (aside from the mop drying and last year when she threw some leaves over a running AC just to watch the leaves fly away) and its not like they let her run amuk. An autistic kid is going to do things differently from a normal kid. They know that and are doing everything they can about it but hey, kids will be kids. She will sneak out if she does not have an eye on her and the apartment wont really let them do anything to allow for "locking" he inside the home.

They also did pay the $50 per month rent hike every year since they have lived there.



This is why I live in a house. I don't have to deal with idiot managers or people making something big out of something small.

[LaserSVT]

I think there are some pretty well developed tenant rights boards online too, where you may be able to get a whole bunch of good info.

Thank you. I have been doing as much research as I can but some of those sites have non-stop contradictions there.
I know who on here knows what they are saying and who likes to just stir shit. There are many on here I know and trust which is why I made the thread here. I value a good portion of ya'lls opinions.


And on a side note, shouldn't circuit breakers that are 2' off the ground and outside in an apartment complex that is a family complex with playgrounds and all be locked some way? It does not make what she did right but also seems like any outside power distribution should be secured, no?

[Cooter]

He should sue them for having unlocked breakers

[bcoop]

And on a side note, shouldn't circuit breakers that are 2' off the ground and outside in an apartment complex that is a family complex with playgrounds and all be locked some way? It does not make what she did right but also seems like any outside power distribution should be secured, no?

They should, but I don't know that it is required, and even if it were, I don't know that it would be enough to reverse the eviction.

The sad truth here is that even if he could afford an attorney and won, he'll be a target for the property management going forward. They'll have a vendetta and will find a reason to evict with enough time.

[Big A]

He should sue them for having unlocked breakers

Somebody's AC going out is a far worse "crime" than a child getting fried on an unlocked hot wire.

[barronj]

The two most important words your buddy can know right now: Pauper's affidavit.

I've heard of people retaining right to tenancy for 2.5 months after eviction processes were started because they filed a pauper's affidavit.

Your buddy has fallen on hard times, and this will give him some breathing room. Doesn't make anything right, but it will give him time.

[Gear_Jammer]

The following IS NOT legal advice. I am not a property lawyer, nor have I ever handled a landlord/tenant dispute like this before. The following is for informational purposes only.

He needs to look at his lease and see what it says. They quote "Section 20" regarding "disrupting our business" but I can't tell if that's a quote from the lease or the Notice to Vacate for Non-Delinquency Breach of Lease the letter mentions right before it. He needs to look at his lease and compare the language in it to the language in the Notice to Vacate for Non-Delinquency Breach of Lease and see whether there is any conflicting language regarding that issue. Even if the lease does say that, WTF does "disrupting our business" mean? If you walk into the apartment manager's office while he/she is on a business related phone call and he/she tells you to wait a minute, is that also a disruption of business? What if you car breaks down while driving into the complex and temporarily blocks the entrance to the complex and other tenants can't get in? Is that also a disruption of business? You see where I'm going with that, right?

Is the term "disruption of business" defined in the lease? If the lease really has the term they quote in that letter but doesn't define what a "disruption of business" is, I would argue that it's ambiguous term. It's well settled law that ambiguous terms in a contract are construed against the party that drafted it, which in this situation is the landlord/property owner. If it's not defined, I would argue that the term is ambiguous so JP court should construe it against the landlord and dismiss the eviction.