If I owe money to a landlord in VT and my legal address is in CT?

[travistee2]

What is the name of your state? VT

This did not happen I just want to know what the laws are and how it works.

What happens if I'm late with the rent in VT and I move out.

The only address the landlord has for me is in CT. Can he sue me in CT?

The other part of the question is about Covid 19.

If someone doesn't pay the rent on time they may be subject to eviction but there is a moratorium on evictions both in VT law and Federal.
So how does that work.

The 3rd part of the question is; Can he file for eviction if we are already moved out. Where would he send the notice.
The interesting thing here is that in this part of VT the post office does not deliver mail and if you don't have a PO Box the post office will not hold it for you either.

 

[Zigner]

Post Hx

 

[Zigner]

I'm sure you are just as capable of performing a web search to find the answers to your specific question as the rest of the forum members are.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state? VT

This did not happen I just want to know what the laws are and how it works.

What happens if I'm late with the rent in VT and I move out.

The only address the landlord has for me is in CT. Can he sue me in CT?

The other part of the question is about Covid 19.

If someone doesn't pay the rent on time they may be subject to eviction but there is a moratorium on evictions both in VT law and Federal.
So how does that work.

The 3rd part of the question is; Can he file for eviction if we are already moved out. Where would he send the notice.
The interesting thing here is that in this part of VT the post office does not deliver mail and if you don't have a PO Box the post office will not hold it for you either.

I'm sorry, we don't do hypothetical questions here. Google VT ll/tenant laws and civil torts and you should find your answer there.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? VT

This did not happen I just want to know what the laws are and how it works.

What happens if I'm late with the rent in VT and I move out.

The only address the landlord has for me is in CT. Can he sue me in CT?

Yes. The landlord may sue you in whatever state you reside. Whether the landlord will do that is another matter. The landlord could sue you in VT, too, after all.

If someone doesn't pay the rent on time they may be subject to eviction but there is a moratorium on evictions both in VT law and Federal.
So how does that work.

The evictions get put on hold until they are allowed to go forward again. But any stay on evictions would not relieve the tenant of the obligation to pay rent, and failing to pay the rent would potentially lead to a higher judgment against the tenant when the tenant is finally forced to move out, unless the applicable state law also deferred the obligation to pay rent in addition to suspending the evictions.

The 3rd part of the question is; Can he file for eviction if we are already moved out. Where would he send the notice.

He could file for the eviction but it would be pointless to do it if the tenant has moved out and the landlord has regained possession of the rented space already.

 

[FlyingRon]

To add to TM's excellent reply to the last question, if you move out he doesn't need to evict you, but he can still file a civil suit (perhaps in small claims) for the money you owe him. This usually has fewer restrictions than an eviction itself (since they aren't displacing you from your domicile). It also isn't subject to the various bans on eviction actions. Of course, the courts are delayed as a practical matter from the COVID crisis, and there's no guarantee of a "speedy trial" in civil actions, unlike criminal ones.

 

[adjusterjack]

This did not happen I just want to know what the laws are and how it works.

Advice from this former landlord.

Never stiff your landlord. Never make your landlord angry.

He can make you very unhappy with a lawsuit, wage garnishment, bank account levy, trashed credit, etc.

You may skate for a while because of the virus crisis but it'll happen eventually.

 

[travistee2]

Thanks to those who replied.
This is what my understanding is.
If I didn't pay the rent when due he could sue in small claims court. I thought he could not sue in small claims court in CT for a case in VT. Since I don't have another address in VT and the post office doesn't deliver to any street address in this part of VT and I don't have a PO box there is no way for him to send me mail or notice of anything in VT. Can he sue me in VT if I have no way to receive the notice?

The reason all of this came up is because I came to VT to look for an apartment. Due to Covid there is not much real estate activity and much fewer apts available then usual. The place I am staying in is technically a rooming house. I doubt that it is licensed. Under VT law
he only has to give one weeks notice to leave if its a rooming house. Also under VT law if I stay more than 30 days then it changes to a Landord/Tenant and is under the usual landlord/tenant laws. Since I don't have a lease and pay monthly last time I checked that means
that he has to give 60 days notice to leave. Everyone here has been here over 30 days including me.

I don't have any immediate problem and am up to date on the rent. The reason I am asking these questions
is that there is a girl here who he is harassing and told her the could kick her out on a weeks notice. I would try to
help her depending on the outcome of all that. That's why I want to know the laws and the details about switching from rooming house
laws to landlord/tenant laws.

My understanding is also that if I am not here when he files an eviction it would be irrelevant. It's not so much that I wouldn't pay the rent as much as
it would be inconvenient to leave on a weeks notice when that is contrary to the law.

Thank you to those who answered. I don't think I can find all of that in an internet search.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Thanks to those who replied.
This is what my understanding is.
If I didn't pay the rent when due he could sue in small claims court. I thought he could not sue in small claims court in CT for a case in VT.

If the landlord sues you in CT then it is a CT case and the landlord certainly could sue you in small claims court in that state if his claim is for a money amount that is no more than $5,000, the same limit as the VT small claims. The landlord could opt to sue you in a VT court too, including VT small claims.

Can he sue me in VT if I have no way to receive the notice?

Yes. All states allow some form of substituted service, like service by publication, for defendants who cannot be contacted because they are ducking service or some other reason. If you don't provide some way for you to be served personally or by mail then you risk the defendant using substituted service and you may never know about the lawsuit until after you have a judgment against you, which can create problems for you.

 

[travistee2]

Since my legal address is the address on my check in CT then he can not claim that he had no way to contact me?
Just learning some new things.
What happens if he uses service by publication when he has the legal CT address?

I remember when I wanted to sue someone in CT who lived in CT while I lived in CT in small claims CT for something that happened in VT and they told me I can't do it.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Since my legal address is the address on my check in CT then he can not claim that he had no way to contact me?

He can contact you by mail if you give him a good mailing address. Under VT law he may attempt to serve you by mail. If you respond to the lawsuit, then all is good for the landlord. If you don't respond, then the landlord needs to try serving you some other way, e.g. personal service or, if that is not possible, by some form of substituted service. So the issue isn't just ability to contact you, it's the ability to properly serve you.

I remember when I wanted to sue someone in CT who lived in CT while I lived in CT in small claims CT for something that happened in VT and they told me I can't do it.

Who is "they" and what reason was given for why you couldn't do it? If for some reason you could not use small claims court because the claim was too large or not the type of claim that CT small claims is allowed to hear then you could have sued in CT in a different court than small claims.

 

[travistee2]

The address on my check is good and is my actual legal address in CT.
"they" is the CT small claims court.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The address on my check is good and is my actual legal address in CT.

Again, though, the issue is getting good service, not just contacting you.

"they" is the CT small claims court.

The reason why would matter. The CT courts clearly would have had personal jurisdiction over a defendant residing in CT. So either there was some reason why the small claims court did not have subject matter jurisdiction (claim was too large or whatever) or the clerk you talked to was not truly familiar with the law.

 

[Zigner]

The reason I am asking these questions is that there is a girl here who he is harassing and told her the could kick her out on a weeks notice. I would try to help her depending on the outcome of all that. That's why I want to know the laws and the details about switching from rooming house
laws to landlord/tenant laws.

You can't "help" this girl in a legal sense. Your best bet is to steer the girl towards local community assistance. Perhaps even a lawyer.

Beyond that, this is not YOUR matter to be involved in.

 

[travistee2]

@Z
If she knows her rights as a tenant ( not as a renter in a rooming house ) that would help her.
Understanding the laws is my matter to be involved in.

@T
In my effort to understand the law I will call a CT small claims court and ask again. The problem was for less than $1000, and I got my money without going to court.