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Is this retaliation by landlord

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heli_fixer

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Alabama

It basically all started on the first month of full rent due. I got paid on the second and rent was due on the 1st. The landlord (LL) contacted me on the second asking for rent. I told him since I stopped the allotment from the last landlord my funds were spread out between multiple banks so I told him that I am trying to get it all consolidated and would try to get him as soon as I can by electronic transfer. I later found out it would take 3-5 days to setup the transfer so I sent a check in the mail. On Sunday I got another call from him asking and I told him that I sent it by mail. Later that night he sent an elderly lady he knows over to the house without notice to check to see if I had moved in, according to the lady.

Later that week, he calls back asking when I sent the check and the check number I told him again and luckily I made a copy of it before sending it then emailed it to him. Friday he calls telling me that he is unable to deposit the check because the reader at UPS could not read the check to deposit into USAA bank. I told him I don’t understand why and that he should try the local bank. Later the same day he text me telling me he tried again and still not working. By this time I don’t know what else to tell him without being rude so I didn’t reply and he continued texting demanding that I send him a moneygram via Walmart and telling me that his lieutenant would be over on Sunday ( this was my 48 hr notice). Later again around 10pm he sent that elderly lady over again and I explain to her that he has a check in hand and it’s not my problem anymore I paid my rent.

The next day he is still harassing me by text and then his lieutenant (LT) showed up a day early. I explained the situation to his LT and gave him a tour of the house along with showing him pictures of the house from when I moved in and some of the safety issues that the LL and I had a handshake deal with to fix. His LT told me to stop anything I was doing and to make a list of all the issues and so I did.

The following week I received a letter with intent to enter dwelling for repairs and arrangements to make repairs and something about a property manager which I was glad to see a property manager getting involved. They showed up on Monday 6/20/11 and I handed them the 4 page list of issues that need attention and about 10-12 were safety or health issues the rest were more like the landlord/tenant move in checklist. At the time also I asked about my girlfriend to move in like the owners and I discussed before and they were ok with it then.

A few days later I talked with the property manager (PM) and she said that the owners denied my GF from moving in because they heard somewhere that she has 3 kids. I told the PM that is true but only one lives whit her full time. The PM said she will try and change their minds and haven’t heard from her since. Apparently the owner also told the PM that they called my old landlord and she was suing me for damages. I called the old LL and ask if it was true and she said no. and i pass her info to PM so she could verify it to.

The PM tried to send maintenance men over once and I missed them because I had to take my daughter to a babysitting job. The PM’s office said they would call next week and reschedule. Never heard from them since.
Until, I received a letter to vacate on July 8th for having unauthorized occupant which breached my lease according to them without and letter to remedy prior to vacate notice. This is based on me asking them to move my GF in and them assuming she lives here. Which she doesn’t. She still maintains her residency in Florida and is up here a lot because her son that lives with her is in Arizona visiting grandparents and the other 2 live close by me and they come over a lot to swim and visit with us.
This seems like a retaliatory eviction because of the large list I gave them and nothing has still been done.
Here is the laws I see being violated base off the Alabama Uniformed Residential Landlord and Tenant Act of 2006.

§ 5.101. Retaliatory Conduct Prohibited
(a) Except as provided in this section, a landlord may not retaliate by discrimatorily increasing rent or decreasing services or by bringing or threatening to bring an action for possession because:
(1) the tenant has complained to a governmental agency charged with
responsibility for enforcement of a building or housing code of a violation applicable to the premises materially affecting health and safety; or

(2) the tenant has complained to the landlord of a violation under Section 2.104;
(b) If the landlord acts in violation of subsection (a), the tenant is entitled to the remedies provided in Section 4.107 and has a defense in any retaliatory action against him for possession. In an action by or against the tenant, evidence of a complaint within six (6) months before the alleged act of retaliation creates a presumption that the landlord’s conduct was in retaliation.




Does this seem like retaliatory conduct like it feels to me? By everything that I have read it appears to be but I am a single father raising 3 kids and have enough stress on me especially with 2 of them being teenage girls. I just want to know if others agree with mine assessment or am I being to personal or emotional? Please be blatantly truthful.

Thanks.
 
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Who's Liable?

Senior Member
You have not paid your rent. You gave an check that is not legible. Had you received a receipt for the check, than you would have paid rent. At this point, you are still due the rent monies plus any fees.

If you feel the LL is wrong in there assertion of violating your lease, inform them in WRITING.

At this point, you need to STOP calling and talking with either the LL or the management and start WRITING. It creates a paper trail that cannot be argued.
 

heli_fixer

Junior Member
Yes the rent has been paid. The check was good. That's why I sent a check so I would have a form of a receipt. I don't know why they wouldn't have a local bank to just deposit the check but i don't believe that is my problem.
When they were here they were able to cash it just fine. They even received an allotment of 600 from my pay on the same day deposited directly to their bank.
The LL wanted me to maintain the allotment but I am pretty sure that the manager would not agree because in my experience PMs want the money to go thru them so they are guaranteed to get their pay so I stopped it. And plus I brought that up in my letter to him earlier about if I maintained the allotment, that there would be 2 months were they would get 3 payment and if they would return the 3rd payment in a timely manner and they did not reply to it. So I am left to assume that they wouldn't.

But the main question is, does this appear to be a retaliatory act by the LL or PM?:confused:
 

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