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eviction

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firequeen

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My landlord is trying to evict my family on the word of another tenant saying my son ALLEGEDLY try to set fire to the siding on the apartment building. My problem is this my son has been in another city since Dec. 10 2011 and the on day the eviction notice was brought to my apartment my son comes home to visit . On what grounds is this possible for my landlord to do this? No police report was filed. What is it that I need to do? The only proof I have of my son being in another city is eyewitnesses. Is that proof enough? Can I be evicted? I live in public housing and I'm very low income I can't afford a lawyer. I'm also applying for SSI.
 
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sandyclaus

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
My landlord is trying to evict my family on the word of another tenant saying my son ALLEGEDLY try to set fire to the siding on the apartment building. My problem is this my son has been in another city since Dec. 10 2011 and the on day he comes home to visit this happens. On what grounds is this possible for my landlord to do this? What is it that I need to do? The only proof I have of my son being in another city is eyewitnesses. Is that proof enough? Can I be evicted? I live in public housing and I'm very low income I can't afford a lawyer. I'm also applying for SSI.
Yes, it is possible, on the basis that your son was trying to intentionally cause damage to the property.

Was a police report ever filed against your son for the attempted arson?

Who are these witnesses who claim your son was elsewhere at the time that the fire was set, and how credible are they?
 
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas My problem is this my son has been in another city since Dec. 10 2011 and the on day he comes home to visit this happens.
Sounds like this is your LLs problem. An eviction is a legal process .. you'll have your day in court. Be prepared to defend yourself or be prepared to move...

And a neighbor as a witness to this? Pretty strong witness...could be wrong on the date by mistake, sure. Judge will consider all testimony.
 

cyjeff

Senior Member
Wait... so you son was somewhere else the whole month EXCEPT the day the fire was set.

On THAT day, he was home for a visit.

Why would you think that his whereabouts the rest of the month mean ANYTHING to this issue?

A fire was set while your child was nearby. More important than eyewitnesses that can put your son somewhere else the rest of the time, what do you have to prove that your son didn't set the fire?
 

DeenaCA

Member
My landlord is trying to evict my family on the word of another tenant
Your landlord is the housing authority, correct? The housing authority can only terminate tenancy with good cause. The regulations are at 24 Code of Federal Regulations 966. HUD has published the Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook, which includes this in the section on termination/eviction:

Note: For a criminal conviction the standard of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt", while for civil cases, such as evictions, the standard of proof is based on "the preponderance of the evidence". Note that a PHA cannot simply allege that criminal activity has occurred, however. Some sort of evidence will be required. For example, if the PHA claims that drug-related criminal activity has occurred, proof that illegal drugs were involved will be needed (typically testimony by a medical examiner or forensic laboratory), as well as some proof tying the sale, possession, use, manufacture etc. of the drugs to the tenant being evicted.
The word of a neighbor, on its own, is not generally considered sufficient evidence for an eviction.

The public housing rules entitle you to a "grievance hearing" before any eviction action is taken. You should request one right away. Read about the grievance process in Chapter 18 of HUD's Public Housing Occupancy Guidebook at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=DOC_10760.pdf.
 

firequeen

Junior Member
Thanks for replying. First things first. MY son has been in harker heights texas since Dec. 10,2011. I was picked up from my home on the 21st of Dec to go to mt older son's home to visit and wash clothes. This is the place my other son is at since 12/10. He is visiting his brother for the Christmas holidays. The next day(12/22/2011) everyone in their home drove back to my apartment. We dropped my son (the one being accused) and my older son's girlfriend at my apartment. I left to to go dry my clothes cause my son's dryer stop working. During the time I was gone an eviction notice was brought to my home. That is what I mean about him not being at home. My son DID NOT try to start the building on fire. It is a clear case of miss identification. No police report was filed.
 
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