Landlord eviction w/out Valid Reasons and Procedures

What is the name of your state?

Montana

I was evicted without valid reasons from a landlord owned house that I was renting at. My friend and her 4-year-old daughter lived there also. I did not know the landlord very well, but since he lived there also, he was always trying to be too fatherly to me. Things started to get worse when there were routinely fights between his girlfriend and his brother (they both lived at the dwelling also). These fights would escalate to points that were scary. The landlord evicted me because he said that I was causing a rift between my friend and him. He phoned my parents without me knowing and told them to come pick me up. After he did that, he picked a fight with me and that was when he told me what he had done. He used many degrading words and got into my personal business. I had seen him go into uncontrollable rages with his brother and girlfriend. That night specific night, he physically turned on me and we had to call the sheriff. There are more details that I haven't mentioned. My question is, how do I get my deposit and month's refund back? It's been almost 30 days now.

azn_chick said:

What is the name of your state?

Montana

I was evicted without valid reasons from a landlord owned house that I was renting at. My friend and her 4-year-old daughter lived there also. I did not know the landlord very well, but since he lived there also, he was always trying to be too fatherly to me. Things started to get worse when there were routinely fights between his girlfriend and his brother (they both lived at the dwelling also). These fights would escalate to points that were scary. The landlord evicted me because he said that I was causing a rift between my friend and him. He phoned my parents without me knowing and told them to come pick me up. After he did that, he picked a fight with me and that was when he told me what he had done. He used many degrading words and got into my personal business. I had seen him go into uncontrollable rages with his brother and girlfriend. That night specific night, he physically turned on me and we had to call the sheriff. There are more details that I haven't mentioned. My question is, how do I get my deposit and month's refund back? It's been almost 30 days now.

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**A: read the applicable sections of the Montana L/T law.

was he upset because you had tons of guys coming over at all hours from the local military base?

regardless of the answer... if you had an at-will lease... there is not much you can do.

You need to read your lease, (if you had no written lease, then there is nothing you can do), and find the section concerning policy for eviction. It should clearly state any and all infractions that are cause for eviction. If you have not done any of them, then you should be entitled to your deposit and pro-rated rent back. You could also sue for any additional expenses incurred by you to find another place.

Take him to small claims court, but be prepared! Have every type of document you can get your hands on. Get a report from the sheriff's office about that night, take a copy of the lease you had , take copies of receipts showing additional expenses incurred from the forced move, etc...

Crazyhorse said:

was he upset because you had tons of guys coming over at all hours from the local military base?

regardless of the answer... if you had an at-will lease... there is not much you can do.

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TO CRAZYHORSE:

LOL, no I didn't have tons of guys coming over the local military base. I'm a full-time student and my main goal is to concentrate on my education. I'm a non-smoker, non-partier and a low-key person. But the great thing is, I do have a copy of the lease.

Re: Re: Landlord eviction w/out Valid Reasons and Procedures

HomeGuru said:

**A: read the applicable sections of the Montana L/T law.

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Thanks. I have done that and it has been a huge difference in my understanding of landlord/tenant eviction procedures.

Re: Re: Re: Landlord eviction w/out Valid Reasons and Procedures

azn_chick said:

Thanks. I have done that and it has been a huge difference in my understanding of landlord/tenant eviction procedures.

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**A: ok then, please tell us what you have learned and how are you going to file a claim to get your deposit back.

nicolia said:

You need to read your lease, (if you had no written lease, then there is nothing you can do), and find the section concerning policy for eviction. It should clearly state any and all infractions that are cause for eviction. If you have not done any of them, then you should be entitled to your deposit and pro-rated rent back. You could also sue for any additional expenses incurred by you to find another place.

Take him to small claims court, but be prepared! Have every type of document you can get your hands on. Get a report from the sheriff's office about that night, take a copy of the lease you had , take copies of receipts showing additional expenses incurred from the forced move, etc...

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Thank you NICOLIA. I took all the evidence with me when I left the night I was evicted. I have highlighted all the rules/memorandum on the lease that the LANDLORD had broke. I am taking him to small claims court. I sent a certified letter to him a few days ago and so if I don't hear a reply within 10 days, I can file a small claims case. I have with me as evidence:

1. The lease agreement
2. All the receipts of the payments for each month
3. A referal letter, for future rentals/lease, that he put by my door, contradicting all those hateful things he said to me the night I left. HE ASKED FOR IT BACK THE NIGHT I LEFT, BUT I SAID NO. I DIDN'T ASK FOR THAT REFERAL LETTER AND I KNEW THAT IT WOULD HELP ME IF HE DIDN'T PAY ME BACK
4. A copy and a receipt of the certified letter that I sent to him demanding my money back.

All I need is the sheriff's report which I should have no problem obtaining. My parents are also pretty angry about the whole situation and they still have the message he left on their cell phone, telling them to come pick me up. Since the landlord had gotten my Dad involved, the landlord personally told my Dad that I would get my money back. I believe I have sufficent information to win my case. Thank you for the feed back, NICOLIA.

Re: Re: Re: Re: Landlord eviction w/out Valid Reasons and Procedures

HomeGuru said:

**A: ok then, please tell us what you have learned and how are you going to file a claim to get your deposit back.

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HomeGuru,

Do I have enough evidence for me to win the case? I'm sure the landlord will say that I damaged his properties when I lived there, but I DO have the referal letter he gave me that stated I took good care of everything. Will this letter be sufficient?

I have to wait for a couple days before I can go and file a small claims case. According to some of Montana's eviction procedures, the landlord can not personally remove any of the tenant's items. Plus, he has to give ME a written notice of ending the lease if anything on the lease agreement was broken. I was under no obligations to leave the night he evicted me, but because my parents were "freakin' out" about the phone call from a man they didn't know, they didn't want me staying there any longer. I had given the landlord 30-days notice already, so he knew that he could not physically push me out of his house, even though he was up in my face and was verbally assaulting me. I knew he meant to intimidate me because I'm a 20-year-old girl and he's a 42-year-old man; he expected me to show him some RESPECT by being quiet while he said all these hurtful things to me. It was when the Landlord's girlfriend got involved and pushed me in the face that things went into chaos. It was like her action triggered something in him and he also hit me on the shoulder. Then he grabbed the back of my neck and pushed me down to the floor. (I'm 5'1'', 105 llbs) Next he grabbed the broom and started to hit me with it. This all happened so quick that my friend and and the landlord's brother were staring at us stunned, and they finally snapped out of it and both rushed to prevent him from physically abusing me. That was why I had to call the sheriff on him. I need the sheriff's report of that night. The landlord's brother told me, before the sheriff arrived, that he was going to stand by his brother's side. He made some face statements about what had happened, and the sheriff didn't have enough evidence to arrest the landlord.

I know the judge won't want to hear all of this; he'll just want to know why I think I should get the rest of my rent and deposit money and if I have any evidence to show for. I believe I am prepared to go to court, but I would like to what I should expect to encounter from the defendant in court. I know he'll try to jeopardize me and make me sound like an irresponsible young adult.

are you the only asian person in montana? I think a big part of the problem is the fact that you live in montana... you might want to try going to school in another state.

I'm still unclear as to why he freaked out and told you "hurtful things". why was he not arrested for assault? why didn't you press charges? what part of the story are you leaving out? was there any alcohol involved?

now the LL was clearly in the wrong... but I'm not sure as to what type of remedy would be afforded to you. one of the most common remedies in CA is the forfeiture of the entire deposit amount. what type of remedy would you like to pursue?

Crazyhorse said:

are you the only asian person in montana? I think a big part of the problem is the fact that you live in montana... you might want to try going to school in another state.

I'm still unclear as to why he freaked out and told you "hurtful things". why was he not arrested for assault? why didn't you press charges? what part of the story are you leaving out? was there any alcohol involved?

now the LL was clearly in the wrong... but I'm not sure as to what type of remedy would be afforded to you. one of the most common remedies in CA is the forfeiture of the entire deposit amount. what type of remedy would you like to pursue?

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Crazyhorse:

I also didn't underdstand why he freaked out and told me "hurtful things". He told me that I was the main cause of the "gap" between him and my friend. He said because I would only interact with her and not with the rest of the household, that I was snobbish and a "ignorant" college girl. I didn't feel that I had to be the LL's best friend just because I was renting there.

He was not arrested for the assault, because I had no bruises and the sheriff said that he didn't have enough evidence. No, I didn't press charges...I don't know what to press charges on and how it would be helpful.

There wasn't any alcohol involved. The LL is a lonely old man who's lost all his kids and family and expected me to be like a "daughter" to him, which made me feel weird.

I just want my deposit and the rest of January's rent to be paid back to me.

Sounds like you have a slam dunk case. File a small claims lawsuit at your local courthouse. Here in CA it costs $22 to file + $25 to serve him.

It is EXTREMELY simple to do and it's the only way you are going to get a dime off of this madman. If you have any more questions... don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!

crazyhorse:

Eight words to live by:

First year law students are just plain dangerous...


*smile*

Crazyhorse said:

Sounds like you have a slam dunk case. File a small claims lawsuit at your local courthouse. Here in CA it costs $22 to file + $25 to serve him.

It is EXTREMELY simple to do and it's the only way you are going to get a dime off of this madman. If you have any more questions... don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!

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Hey, thanks. I'm going to file the case next week...and I'll drop by and let you all know what happened.