falsely accused by the landlord

[BayRidge1022]

Hello.
Please advise
Me and my wife falsely accused by the landlord of smoking marijuana in the apartment. They claimed they smelled strong odor by our door and issued 10 day notice to pay 500 $ fine or they null our lease. Nobody never smoke anything in the apartment plus we both were at work when they claimed strong odor was coming from and nobody else except landlord don't have keys from apartment. To top everything we don't really feel comfortable our landlord just comes to the door step and sniffs around without even calling and notifying us.
We think our landlord is trying to make us move us so he can get new tenants who will pay higher rent .
Chicago. IL

Thanks

 

[Just Blue]

Hello.
Please advise
Me and my wife falsely accused by the landlord of smoking marijuana in the apartment. They claimed they smelled strong odor by our door and issued 10 day notice to pay 500 $ fine or they null our lease. Nobody never smoke anything in the apartment plus we both were at work when they claimed strong odor was coming from and nobody else except landlord don't have keys from apartment. To top everything we don't really feel comfortable our landlord just comes to the door step and sniffs around without even calling and notifying us.
We think our landlord is trying to make us move us so he can get new tenants who will pay higher rent .
Chicago. IL

Thanks

You honestly believe that a LL has to notify you in order to breath/smell outside your apartment door? Really?
Offer to do a drug test to prove that you don't smoke pot.

Something pot smokers fail to truly understand is how easily a non-smoker can detect the smell of pot. Even hours or even DAYS after the smoker is finished with his/her joint the smell lingers in the air and furniture. My ex was amazed that I could smell pot in the hall outside my apt when he was just rolling a Blueberry Kush joint.

 

[xylene]

Does your lease call for this fine? Please post the exact wording of the clause here.

Were the police called in regards to this?

In Chicago IL your landlord has to do a lot more than smell the odor of marijuana to 'nullify' your lease - which is something only a court can do.

 

[xylene]

Something pot smokers fail to truly understand is how easily a non-smoker can detect the smell of pot. Even hours or even DAYS after the smoker is finished with his/her joint the smell lingers in the air and furniture. My ex was amazed that I could smell pot in the hall outside my apt when he was just rolling a Blueberry Kush joint.

So you are saying the smell of marijuana is so cloying, lasting and pervasive that being smelled alone (by a lay person) in a hallway doesn't offer much proof that marijuana was being smoked, exactly where, or by whom.

 

[Just Blue]

So you are saying the smell of marijuana is so cloying, lasting and pervasive that being smelled alone (by a lay person) in a hallway doesn't offer much proof that marijuana was being smoked, exactly where, or by whom.

A person, even a layperson, can easily detect the unique and unmistakable odor of pot. And if the smell is stronger by the OP's door as opposed to say...his next door neighbor... that is pretty damning. OP could invite the LL in for a look-see/ sniff of his apartment. Or not. He could deny that he or anyone in his household smokes and refuse to pay the "fine" (depending on the lease he may do that anyway regardless of innocence or guilt). Let the courts sort it out.

OP might want to start looking for a new place to live when his lease is up.

 

[BayRidge1022]

Does your lease call for this fine? Please post the exact wording of the clause here.

Were the police called in regards to this?

In Chicago IL your landlord has to do a lot more than smell the odor of marijuana to 'nullify' your lease - which is something only a court can do.

It doesn't look like the police was called. We went to the police this morning but this is not considered a criminal offense. It is mentioned in the lease about 500$ fine and 'nullify' the lease.

 

[BayRidge1022]

A person, even a layperson, can easily detect the unique and unmistakable odor of pot. And if the smell is stronger by the OP's door as opposed to say...his next door neighbor... that is pretty damning. OP could invite the LL in for a look-see/ sniff of his apartment. Or not. He could deny that he or anyone in his household smokes and refuse to pay the "fine" (depending on the lease he may do that anyway regardless of innocence or guilt). Let the courts sort it out.

OP might want to start looking for a new place to live when his lease is up.

no one smoked pot in the apartment and no one was even at home. This is false accusation.The LL found scapegoats and all our attempts to reach out were ignored.

 

[LdiJ]

no one smoked pot in the apartment and no one was even at home. This is false accusation.The LL found scapegoats and all our attempts to reach out were ignored.

If there was definitely no one in your apartment at that time, and you both can prove that you were at work, then if the landlord files an eviction against you, you can force the landlord to prove it was you in court. Obviously the landlord won't be able to do that because you will be able to prove that you were at work...with hard evidence.

However, if there are any teens in the family who could have ditched school to smoke pot in the apartment, then you have more of a problem.

 

[xylene]

It is mentioned in the lease about 500$ fine and 'nullify' the lease.

Please type out the exact words in that section of the lease please.

 

[BayRidge1022]

If there was definitely no one in your apartment at that time, and you both can prove that you were at work, then if the landlord files an eviction against you, you can force the landlord to prove it was you in court. Obviously the landlord won't be able to do that because you will be able to prove that you were at work...with hard evidence.

However, if there are any teens in the family who could have ditched school to smoke pot in the apartment, then you have more of a problem.

It is only I and my wife . No kids and no family. No one else has
Keys but the LL. They also should have cameras and should see us leaving and entering the building

 

[BayRidge1022]

Please type out the exact words in that section of the lease please.

apartments are completely smoke-free. All lessees and their guests
are not to smoke anything of any kind at any time in the apartmentfs), which includes, but is not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, any and all controlled
substances, or via electronic vaping device(s), and any other items prohibited by federal, state, or Chicago city ordinances. A $500 refresh fee will be
charged to your account if this policy is broken, and. ....... Properies reserves the right to declare the lease null and void and require lessee to vacate
premises within 30 days. In addition, there is to be no smoking in any common areas of the property, including at or within 15 feet of property entrances,
hallways, stairways, baiconies, patios, storage rooms, and parking or bicycle storage areas.

 

[FarmerJ]

If your LL wants you to vacate based on what they think is a lease violation then in the end they must be prepared to prove that you violated your lease and of course landlords can in the end refuse to renew leases as a way to get people out. BTW your LL can go around and sniff doors from outdoors or common use areas like interior hallways , Same thing with trying to collect that 500. in the end the LL must be able to prove to a court if you had to sue for refund of deposit money . NOW if you use your browser and search on testing walls for tobacco smoke , I got links to a company that has a test kit for LLs to use to determine if a property has been contaminated by nicotine -tobacco use. >
Title New Test Kit Allows Property Owners & Managers to Check for Nicotine Smoke Contamination Introduction_ _ _ _ _ Analytical provides test kits to identify nicotine residues left on surfaces in homes, rental units and other indoor environments.< and another web page by a company that sells them says >
Marijuana Substance Test

• Test any substance for Marijuana, Cannabis or Hashish
• Immediate and reliable results
• Easy and safe to use
• Can test for illicit drug residues in quantities of as little as 1 microgram per square millimeter. You can also test ashes from an ashtray.
• Package includes two test papers, but both must be used once the ampule is broken

$8.95 each < SO in the end here if you have broken your lease then know there are ways for LLs to test a rental and if you really didn't violate the lease then you can stand your ground and make the LL either refuse to renew your lease or take you to court and prove to a court that you did and the burden will be all on them to prove their claim.

 

[BayRidge1022]

If your LL wants you to vacate based on what they think is a lease violation then in the end they must be prepared to prove that you violated your lease and of course landlords can in the end refuse to renew leases as a way to get people out. BTW your LL can go around and sniff doors from outdoors or common use areas like interior hallways , Same thing with trying to collect that 500. in the end the LL must be able to prove to a court if you had to sue for refund of deposit money . NOW if you use your browser and search on testing walls for tobacco smoke , I got links to a company that has a test kit for LLs to use to determine if a property has been contaminated by nicotine -tobacco use. >
Title New Test Kit Allows Property Owners & Managers to Check for Nicotine Smoke Contamination Introduction_ _ _ _ _ Analytical provides test kits to identify nicotine residues left on surfaces in homes, rental units and other indoor environments.< and another web page by a company that sells them says >
Marijuana Substance Test

• Test any substance for Marijuana, Cannabis or Hashish
• Immediate and reliable results
• Easy and safe to use
• Can test for illicit drug residues in quantities of as little as 1 microgram per square millimeter. You can also test ashes from an ashtray.
• Package includes two test papers, but both must be used once the ampule is broken

$8.95 each < SO in the end here if you have broken your lease then know there are ways for LLs to test a rental and if you really didn't violate the lease then you can stand your ground and make the LL either refuse to renew your lease or take you to court and prove to a court that you did and the burden will be all on them to prove their claim.

Wow! Thanks very much!