Escaping from landlady

[Streak]

So last year when me and my wife split, our matrimonial house sold in less than 1 hour and I was forced to find a place to live on practically zero notice. My parents found an ad for a basement room in their neighborhood. I checked it out. It was basically one large bedroom with a bathroom across the hall in this ladies basement, while she lived upstairs and we were originally supposed to be sharing the main floor.

Here's the complication. I have a son who comes to visit and stays over every second weekend. I also had two cats from my marriage. She accepted all of this, at least at first.

As time goes on it becomes clear this lady is bat-shit crazy and impossible to live with. Amazingly I'm super neat and tidy and she has never complained about that. But every time I light is left on when I leave a room, every time the door creaks when I come home, every time I have to put away groceries, she's on my case with nasty e-mails. She tried to kick me out, won't tell me why, but then relents and changes her mind when she realizes she can't find anyone else to live there.

I manage to get my girlfriend to accept my cats at her house. The landlady basically had me confine them to the basement room 24/7 and they were pretty miserable. She hassles me about my son making noise (he isn't) despite the fact that she is dating a different guy every day of the week, staying up until 2-3 AM blasting movies and music in our shared space, and gives me shit if I say anything or my son even goes near her.

Finally she asked me to leave again, and I agreed, hoping and praying I would be able to afford a place away from her. Her relatives from China moved into her house for weeks too, cutting me off from having access to the main floor, the kitchen and staying awake at all hours (big time difference from China) all while my son was visting for the long weekend too.

Fast forward to this week, where I get an e-mail telling me her air conditioner has flooded my room, and she has removed all the furniture, ripped out all the carpeting and packed up all my things. Again, I have my son TOMORROW. Oh and she is using my bathroom/shower since she says hers is broken. Without asking.

I paid my rent up to Sept 1 but now she is also demanding I have all my possessions out of her home by Aug 19 so that she can paint and redecorate the place for the next tenant.

I have asked for some of my rent back for this month because this is ridiculous. So far she hasn't agreed. Any creative or not so creative suggestions for how to handle this crazy witch?

PS I did find a new place to live and am mostly moved in, so basically stuck paying rent on her shitty, uninhabitable, flooded basement at the same time as my new place. She seems to think that means it's OK to trash my room at her house.

[Qalbert]

http://www.bettercallsaul.com/

[Cleverness]

First gonna ask, did you sign an actual lease with her or was this a verbal thing? If so check your lease for anything that can help you. If verbal I think that's different state by state?

[Niiro]

Salt the front lawn with a giant cock and get away from her as soon as possible, this doesn't sound like it's worth pursuing just for a fraction of a months rent (which I assume wasn't that much considering the "apartment" description).

[wyrmtung]

Small claims court is surprisingly easy. Fill out some forms and state your case in court.

[archibaldcrane]

Small claims court is surprisingly easy. Fill out some forms and state your case in court.

This. Written lease or verbal? Either way, small claims for sure.

[Ksandra]

First gonna ask, did you sign an actual lease with her or was this a verbal thing?

This is the biggest thing. Did you sign a lease?

Honestly, if you have all those emails in the first place then you can move out and sue her for the extra money (tbh once you move out if you let her know you'll be suing her for the extra money she'll probably give it to you before even going to court saving you time/money).

Did you pay rent by cash or check? If cash you could be fucked if there's no paper trail. If check, go to your bank and get all the statements with the check images on there.

Also, if you had a lease was it written in the lease that you would share the main floor? If so, believe it or not you can get even more money back depending on when her family moved in because she broke the lease with that.

Move out, KEEP ALL THE EMAILS, threaten to sue. If she doesn't give the money, sue her. Bring the check statements and emails and lease.


Lastly, if you didn't sign a lease, then you asked for this lol.

[archibaldcrane]

What state are you in btw? If it's California, you could make this really fun since what she's doing is mad illegal.

[Ksandra]

What state are you in btw? If it's California, you could make this really fun since Judy Judy films here.

ftfy. FUCK YA OP GO ON JJ.

[Streak]

Sorry I'm from Canada, eh. But I've checked the local laws for rental properties and she's definitely violated a few of them. Most importantly, she DID NOT do leases with any previous tenants but when I moved in I insisted that she draft a rental agreement for us and we both sign. I already used it against her when she tried a few ridiculous tactics. Such as when she noticed her hydro was higher than last year she tried to demand me to pay her extra money for it when hydro is explicitly included in the rent.

She also cancelled my cable two months before I moved out (without notice). My son found out when he woke up on a Saturday morning and couldn't watch cartoons anymore. Cable is also included in my rent.

Also, entering my property when I'm not home and using the shower is against the law. I wouldn't do it to her, not sure why she thinks it's OK for her to do it to me. (oh right because she "owns" the place)

The flooding thing is really the icing on the cake, honestly.

[zoobernut]

Take pictures, lots of pictures. And keep really detailed documentation of everything you have dealt with including printing out hard copies of the emails sent. That will really help you when you take her ass to court.

Oh yeah and don't forget to include a hard copy of your lease in with all the other documentation.

[Streak]

Yep she was pissed when she learned I had been to my room when it was trashed. She doesn't even know I took pictures. And I already moved out all my files including the lease agreement and copies of all the cheques and receipts.

[Byrthnoth]

Nail her ass to the wall legally.

[Ksandra]

Yep she was pissed when she learned I had been to my room when it was trashed. She doesn't even know I took pictures. And I already moved out all my files including the lease agreement and copies of all the cheques and receipts.

if this is the case then;

Nail her ass to the wall legally.

And seriously, don't just get last months rent. Can't ask for all, but for sure at least whenever her family moved in and you could no longer share the space (if it was written in).


Technically, when a landlord doesn't follow the laws of renting they basically evoke all rights to rent at all.

[Iku]

Bring your case to a lawyer. Consult him on how to fuck your landlord as much as possible.

If you want fuck over your landlord legally, ask a lawyer. Google is the worst thing to research on how to fuck people legally.

[vagus]

No lease = you're fucked.

[Streak]

We have a lease. Month to month, with all the details laid out and signed.

[tyven]

TAKE HER DOWN, HAVE HER DEPORTED. TELL HER TO GO EAT CATS AND DOGS SOMEWHERE ELSE

[jmc]

The better question is...........

Is the living space your in, actually a legal apartment?

[zoobernut]

The better question is...........

Is the living space your in, actually a legal apartment?

This is a valid question as well. Not sure about other areas but where I have lived (California and Nevada) it is the owners responsibility to maintain a legal domicile. If they rent out an illegal domicile they are liable to pay back all money back to the person renting from them. So theoretically you could get back all rent that you have ever given her if she was illegally renting out her basement.